In My Locket
by so.cordial.so.rotten
Summary: Maggie Dempsey thought she was a normal muggle with the exception of her strange friends. After discovering who she really is Maggie is swept away into the wizarding world where she finds magic, adventure, and possibly love. Check out the REWRITTEN Chs!
1. First Curses

Everything was silent. The leaves didn't rustle, the twigs didn't snap under my shoes, even the stream that bubbled under the little cement blocks, that worked as a dam, flowed noiselessly. The only things that echoed off the trees were the chokes and gasps that erupted from my throat as I ran down the leafy path around Ridgewood Lake.

This lake was the home of my good friends, granted they may not be your ordinary school chums. My best friends were much more than human. Vinette, a water nymph, beautifully delicate with scaly blue skin and eyes as black as licorice jelly beans. A kelpie named Soobie, when in his common form of a horse, has deep emerald fur, eyes like pearls, and stands five feet tall at the shoulders. Flicka Faye, or Flick as I call her, is no larger than one of my fingers with flowing pink hair that looks like it was made of clotted cream and deep pink eyes. And finally Melinda who has always been there for me even when I was younger than my now eleven years. She is the swamp witch of eternal youth with a never changing face and violet eyes. Her white hair could be described as being the color of starlight except that it's always knotted and clogged with colored streaks and dirt. She was the one who would always tell me about the magic. Witches and wizards that secretly lurked around every corner hidden from non magical people, or muggles, as she called them and me.

I knew they could help me with what I had just witnessed. I saw something unnatural, unearthly, some kind of horrible magic. I could see the mouth of Melinda's cave that was dug deeply into the side of the tree covered slope of land. I followed the stream that flowed from the lake, deeper into the woods. My head begin to swim with the green glow that the sun produced as it shone brightly through the trees and threw patches of light against the large rocks that supported the mouth of the cave. The color under the trees only reminded of what I had seen.

"Melinda!...Melinda!" I shouted, voice trembling, down into the cave. I could feel the panic that had consumed my body begin to fade slowly from my shaking fingers and hands. I could still see the green flashing at the back of my mind, "...MELINDA!"

"I'm coming, hold on," Melinda's voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness. My thin, knobby knees knocked together as I wiped the tears off my cheeks. The shouting of my fathers friend, Mr. Coville, and the screaming of his son still vibrated in my ears. Soobie's glossy pearl eyes and velvet green nostrils surfaced from the stream running by the cave completely unnoticed by me until I heard the splashing of Vinette climbing onto his head. Flick had landed on my shoulder, and I knew that she could felt my body tense up under her soft, cream-colored feet. "What is it Maggie," Melinda walked into the day light, her frizzy, wild, white hair full of streaky colors and a birds nest, her smooth skin caked in dirt, her violet eyes searched my face. Her concern caused something, the twang of fear perhaps, and the tears started to flow from my eyes again. All of what I had seen came flooding back to me like a tidal wave

"Maggie what happened," Melinda, I knew, had never seen me cry before and I could see she didn't know what to do. She brought me inside the cave, Soobie, Vinette, and Flick followed. "Okay Maggie look at me," I turned my head to her but my vision was quickly blurred from tears. "Tell me what happened."

I tried to explain what had happened. How I heard the yelling upstairs so I had went to investigate. And standing in front of the guest bedroom door I heard the word Crucio shouted in a violent, booming voice and seeing a flash of horrible green light. I had counted a total of six. After each chant and flash there was a whimper or a scream.

Melinda sat there and listened intently to me retell my story, searching through out her mind for an explanation.

I knew that my parents and Mrs. Coville wouldn't be back until one o'clock so there was no one home to help me. So I hid behind a door when it stopped and listened to the thuds down the stairs. Rushing into the room I ran over to my friends side and felt the tears start and finally after I pulled myself together enough to stand up, I ran here. Melinda looked around from me, to Flicka, to Soobie and Vinette, and back to me.

"Well...no muggle should ever have to witness that let alone a witch or wizard." And she gave me another lecture about magic. But this time it was about the three unforgivable curses including the cruciatus curse. I sat there and stared into my hands.

"So their wizards," I kept staring into my hands.

"In fact they're a very powerful wizarding family," Melinda whispered to me.

"So he'll be okay," my words sounded hysterical in my ears.

"I don't know the unforgivable curses have different effects," Vinette to me from her seat on Soobie.

"But this one isn't bad right?" I whispered wiping a tear off my cheek.

"He should be fine," Melinda said.

"Okay..." I was still so scared, I know I could trust my friends but there was no way I could control my emotions, and I burst into tears once more. This was too much for me to handle all the unanswered questions in my mind, if some wizard families hated muggles why would they stay with my family and me? Why were they so nice? Maybe that's the way they were? A thousand more similar questions roared through my brain.

"Maggie its okay," Vinette lightly touched my shoulder, when I sniffled she quickly pulled it back; I looked at her.

"Listen Maggie, we don't know how to handle this sort of thing," Soobie said quietly.

"...Ill see you guys later," I got up from sitting on the edge of Melinda's bed and began to walk out of the cave.

"Maggie wait," I turned back and saw Flick in front of my face her tiny voice sounded like bells. "We want to help really, but can't."

"I know," I looked down at my shoes.

"I want to go with you." Flick shot towards me on her smokey wings, Soobie's eyes grew wide as he looked over at her.

"No Flick we can't let any of these muggles see any of us, I don't like the idea," Soobie was right, no matter how much I wanted Flick to come with me, and we all knew it.

"Wait,I may..." But Melinda cut herself off when she ran down one of the many tunnels of the cave. After standing a few minutes and listening to Soobie rant about how Flicka coming with me was not the best idea, finally Melinda ran back up, I could see new dirt and twigs that had collected in her hair from running, "You can use this," out of breath Melinda held up a large amulet on a long bronze chain.

The amulet was made of bronze with a glass cover that was elegantly engraved with vines and leaves with small gems and a small latched door on the back. Inside the latch was a key to open the glass front. "Flick can stay in the amulet and no one will be able to see her."

"That's brilliant," I couldn't believe it, Flick was able to come with me even with what had happened earlier lingering in my mind, I couldn't believe it, I was speechless. I knew that muggles weren't supposed to see fairies but it didn't matter anymore. Flick carefully climbed into the amulet and I took off out of the cave running and skipping in one smooth motion.

* * *

Once Maggie was out of sight Melinda turned to a table in the dimly lit cave. "You should have told her you know," Melinda turned to Vinette standing on the table her height of one and a half feet almost equal to Melinda sitting in the finely carved chair. Melinda looked at Vinette's pale blue skin then to her briny deep blue hair and long ears, trying to avoid her gaze and finally looking into her black eyes the color of oil spills.

"Tell her what?" Melinda said with a mere smile on her face. Even with a calm look her head was spinning, how could Vinette possibly know about him?

"You know...why you actually have the amulet for Flick."

"Oh..." Melinda's mind stopped with relief, "No, we have to wait until shes seventeen, remember what the queen told us?"

"Yeah...but...how," Vinette started, Melinda cut her off.

"No, this is the one thing we have to keep from her."

Soobie stood up from the ground, "Why can't we tell her, we pretty much threw the idea of the wizarding world at her. She's already eleven."

"If we tell her the visions will come to early, we have to wait until she is at least seventeen before we tell her." Melinda had explained this time and time again, and Vinette, Soobie, and Flicka Faye never seemed to understand.

"We can't tell her understand," Vinette and Soobie nodded quietly, "Thanks." Melinda sighed

Soobie trotted out of the cave followed by Vinette, Melinda sank back down into her chair. She was relived they hadn't asked about something she had found out long ago when Maggie was only a very small girl. Melinda caught a glimpse of the boy and his parents that stayed with Maggie and her parents during the summer. Right away she knew who they were...The Malfoys.


	2. Sorry Excuse for a Promise

As I walked up the street I kept smiling down at the amulet and watched Flick breathe heavily with sleep on the soft velvet interior. Just having her around my neck made me feel safe and unafraid to face Mr. Coville at dinner tonight when we all sat down for one of my mother's delicious meals. He was just a man, a wizard perhaps, but he wouldn't be able to hurt me as long as Flick was at my side. I tucked the amulet into my shirt and I could feel the cool metal lay against my belly button. Running, I jumped up the back stairs and on to the patio, everything still seemed quiet. My parents were not back yet and Mr. Coville wasn't sitting at the dinning room table reading the Cricket, our local paper, like he usually did. But I did see the blond head of his son, Jayden, bent over reading something in his lap, through the doorway that lead to the living room.

The back door creaked open and the floorboards in the dinning room did the same as I walked across them. Before I walked into the large living room I made sure that the amulet, and Flick, were well hidden in my shirt and then proceeded to sit down on the sofa.

"Jayden what are doing?" I asked the bleach blond haired boy who was sitting on the floor reading a book.

Actually, Draco Malfoy was the boy sitting on the floor. His father, mother and himself had been coming to the home of Mr. And Mrs. Dempsey and their daughter Maggie for every summer since he could remember. He never knew why his father would mingle with muggles, let alone abandon the Malfoy name to hide that they were wizards, but he didn't dare question his father's actions. All his father had ever told him about the reason they went to Maggie's home was that she had a key role in Voldemort's takeover. Of course Maggie knew none of this.

"What?" Jayden said, probably a little confused.

"Whatcha reading?" I looked down at the strange book Jayden was reading and tried to sound out the title, "Qu-idd...itch." All he did was laugh at me and stuffed the small book into his pocket.

"It's nothing," he said as he glanced down at the floor.

"Jayden are you okay," I looked at him with what I thought were sad eyes.

"Yeah...I'm fine...why? What do you want Dempsey?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" I questioned him. But what I had seen only an hour or so ago seemed to have no effect on him, like it never happened.

"I'm fine,"

"Are you sure because--," Jayden cut me off.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What," I looked at him in disbelief; I was always nice to him, well almost always.

"What happened to calling me by my last name and, 'hey butt weasel' or 'if your hair were any brighter I could hang you from the ceiling and use you as a chandelier'," I looked at him as a smirk crawled across my face.

"I would never say anything like that," I held my hand over my mouth for added effect. He stuck his tongue out at me. "Cute Coville," I smirked using his last name. We sat there for a few minutes in silence, a snarl moved around on Jayden's face while he mumbled to himself.

"What did you say," I said sweetly just to make him even more aggravated and flustered than he already was. He looked up and threw a death glare at me and I smiled back at him. I instantly felt bad for teasing him, he probably wasn't himself right now after what had happened. I sat a little longer and watched as Jayden tried to advert his gaze out the large pane window above the small and squat book case in front of him. Suddenly I had an idea. Having Flick with me made me feel much better, may be if I could show Jayden Flick he'd feel better as well.

"Hey Coville," I said this quietly trying not to make him think I was up to anything bad, as I usually was, "...can I show you something?" Little did I know the one thing I thought would make him a little happier was what he had been waiting for literally his whole life.

"It's not going to jump out at me is it," he scrunched his forehead up hoping it wouldn't.

"If you get it angry..." I thought for a moment, "yes, yes it will." I knew there would be no jumping but how could let the opportunity of making Jayden uncomfortable pass up? It was all in good fun anyway.

He looked at me with an uneasy expression as I grabbed his arm and pulled him up from his position on the floor. Being younger had an advantage; girls grew faster than boys did, so I was taller and stronger than Jayden. Once we were down the stairs of the patio I let go of his hand. Jayden lost ground behind me and kept dragging his feet, I was always faster than he was as well.

We ran down the long yard past a vegetable garden, some flowerbeds and many trees. I loved living here, every thing was so green and lush. Thinking about the color of the grass made me feel a little queasy, but when I looked back at Jayden who had a look on his face that was determined to beat me the queasiness fell away from my stomach. Finally we reached the large thick-branched tree at the edge of the landscaped lawn. It was the biggest tree and it held, high above the ground, a tree house nestled among the branches. Primed siding and glass windows and shingles covered the outside while the floor was covered in old, thread bare rugs and the walls were the color of the sky on the inside. I moved over to the makeshift ladder: planks hammered to the tree.

"I'm not climbing up that," Jayden spat at me, as he looked the ladder up and down.

"Why? You scared of heights or something," I threw back at him.

"No...it's probably dirty or something," he lied.

"Don't worry little miss priss I'll throw down the proper ladder," I said as I started climbing up the side of the tree.

* * *

Draco looked around and fiddled with the moss on the tree. He hoped that this was the moment he, and his father, had been waiting for as long as he could remember. His father _and_ Voldemort needed to know if this was the girl they had been looking for. _It better not be something stupid like a frog or something._ Draco thought to himself.

Maggie had always been better at handling animals than he was, now that he thought about it she was better at a lot of things than he was. That's why he found himself putting up with her, she challenged him. Even though she was a muggle they had become friends in a competitive sort of way. He slapped his face, _I must be loosing it_, he thought, it was probably the picking up after himself instead of house elves doing it. He convinced himself that was the reason.

* * *

"Hurry up Dempsey I haven't got all day."

"You don't have to come and look at it," I shouted down three fourths of the way there.

"Fine, just get going."

Finally reaching the top I grabbed the rope ladder and attached the loops to the hooks. I tossed it over the side of the platform and watched it unroll quickly right above Jayden's head. I smiled a little bit. _Don't__step out of the way, Don't step out of the way,_ I chanted to myself. But Jayden quickly moved to the side. _Shoot!_

"Are you trying to kill me Dempsey!!!" he yelled up at me, "You almost hit me!"

"It was accidentally on purpose Coville."

"That doesn't make any sense," He yelled from the bottom of the rope ladder.

"Hurry up Coville I haven't got all day," I mimicked his response from earlier. He rolled his eyes and began to climb.

As he neared the top of the ladder, Jayden began swinging back and forth. I panicked a little bit because my father had always warned my about doing that exact same thing. I snapped, "Stop it, you'll swing it loose," but he wasn't listening.

Suddenly, with soft swish, the looped ends of the ladder swung loose from their holdfasts. Instinctively I threw my arms over the side of the platform grabbing hold of Jayden's wrists, his fingers wrapped around mine. Jayden looked down and watched the rope ladder plummet to the ground then back up to me with wild eyes. "What ever you do Dempsey don't let go," Jayden screamed hysterically at me.

"Don't worry I won't let go," I whispered, I saw Jayden's shut his eyes tightly. I tried to lift myself up clenching onto Jayden. "I can't pull you up your to heavy, get rid of those stupid boots." Jayden looked down at his large boots the toe, heel and sole made of a heavy metal.

"Are you mental, I'm not just going to throw my favorite boots down a thirty foot drop!"

"You can go with them if you like!" I shouted in frustration from his weight. His eyes widened, he started to shimmy out of the boots. My body began swaying losing my grip a little from Jayden's constant moving.

"Stop wiggling so much or we'll both go over," the wiggling died down a bit, then there was a thud.

"One down," Jayden said, I peered over quickly to see one boot on the ground.

"One to go," I echoed back. There was a little more wiggling then another thud.

"You can pull me up now Dempsey, I would prefer not to be hanging from a tree house thirty feet above the ground," Jayden said back, a crack of fear in his voice.

"It's only twenty-three and a half feet Coville, build a bridge and get over it," I yelled over the side.

"Have your arms gone numb yet? I've been hanging here for at least five minutes." He smirked at me.

"Shutup Coville," I snapped, "Do you want me to drop you, you'll probably break both legs. I hear when you break your femur its such a big bone it'll rip up through your skin," that slapped the smirk off his face, his skin was paler than usual.

"I have to get a good grip." Starting to pull him up I was able to get onto my knees and hoist him up from there until Jayden was able to swing his knee up and over the side of the platform. We both sat on the small porch holding on to the railing that surrounded every part of it except where to ladder hooked onto. Jayden was breathing heavily and I was checking against my shirt to make sure that the amulet hadn't broken while I was lying on top of it.

Still in slight shock both of us crawled into the door of the tree house and sprawled out onto the rugs. It was Jayden who sat up first.

"Know what was so important to show me that you nearly got me killed," He crossed his arms. I looked at him from the floor and rolled my eyes. I sat up too, straightening out my shirt and the chain of the amulet.

"Okay I trust you but..." I hesitated.

"But what?"

"You have to promise that you won't tell anyone, and I mean anyone," I waved my arms around for a dramatic effect.

"I promise," Jayden said a little nonchalantly.

"Okay and you also have to promise that you won't freak out or doing anything mental or anything...promise?"

"Yeah, yeah I promise, now come on show me," he sat there wide eyed.

"Fine hold on..." I reached down into my shirt searching for the amulet, "Though you've probably seen one of these before," I looked up, not sure how Jayden would take what had just come out of my mouth. I found the amulet and pulled it out of my shirt, Jayden's posture sunk.

"Were you expecting something different?" I asked.

"Sorta, but I should of guessed that it would have been something lame, if you know that I've seen it before--" his tone became a little cold but I was going to prove him wrong.

"Well hold on I'm not done yet," I undid the latch on the back, took out the small key, and fit it into the lock that held the front shut.

"Ready?" I looked up at him. He gestured to the amulet. I slowly turned the key. It was as if the world had stopped to watch the two of us, it was so quiet you could hear the click of the lock when it opened. I opened the glass front of the amulet. From inside there was a faint, yet unearthly glow from inside.

Then Flick stuck her small head out. She yawned in such an exaggerated way she looked like a lioness for a moment. She turned to me smiled and snuggled back down into the soft interior of the amulet, and fell back asleep, snoring softly. I closed the front and locked it back up, and placed the key back behind the latch.

I pulled all the courage I could and finally looked back up at Jayden. He looked dumbfounded and there was a long silence until he spoke.

"How did you know that I've probably seen a faerie before?" he asked staring at me.

"Well..." I looked at my sleeve and tucked the necklace back into my shirt, "I know that you're a wizard." I closed my eyes after I said this, I didn't want to look into his eyes. There was rustling in front of me and I looked up, he had pulled out a wand.

"You promised," I whispered quietly at him with pleading eyes. He pointed the wand at me and mumbled something. I felt warm and and my entire body tingled.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed.

Everything went black.


	3. Books and Blue Potions

Draco looked around the tree house, everything was warm even with the sun setting. But he couldn't help but feel a deep and terrible cold sensation at the back of his skull. Yes, he finally had accomplished what his father had asked him. He found the right girl, he used the right spell, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would rise again. But no matter how he looked at what he had done he knew he would never feel the same.

He slid down the fireman pole on the other side of the tree house and ran back up the yard, past trees, the flowerbeds, then the vegetable garden. Then in through the back door on the patio and down the hall to the guest bedroom that his parents were staying in and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Lucius boomed from the other side of the door.

"It's me father," Draco stood there in front of the door, his knees shaking.

Draco slowly opened the door and poked his head in. "What do you want now Draco," Lucius snarled at him.

"She showed me the faerie father."

"Excellent," Lucius smirked, "did you use the spell I taught you?"

"Yes father," Draco smiled to himself, the edge of that cold feeling subsided at his father's word of praise.

"Wipe that off your face Draco," he snapped, Draco's face fell. Lucius took out his wand and touched it to the wall, "Igniapus," he boomed again.

"What did you do father?" Draco asked cautiously yet with a strong sense of curiosity.

"Now there is no trace of us ever being in this house, ever being in their lives," his handsome lips pulled in to a smirk at Draco. "Have a look for yourself."

Being very confused, Draco left the bedroom. He ran up another flight of stairs to the floor that Maggie's bedroom was on and slowly opened the door. The sun threw beams of light through the lacy, purple curtains and cast a colored haze on everything. Draco looked at the wooden, winged horse that was suspended from the ceiling from an elegant hook and little glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the ceiling around it. That hadn't changed.

The wardrobe was still in it's place. The mirror next to it was the same as well. He approached Maggie's writing desk with a frown on his face. He looked at the pictures propped up on the desk. In the frames he saw Maggie's smiling face off center in all the pictures he had once stood next to her in. His face was no longer there. He walked over to Maggie's unmade bed and pushed over some books, that were on the shelf above her pillows, aside and saw that where he had written his name on the wall was gone. The shelf above the one with the books used to have a small ballerina figurine that his mother had gotten for Maggie while they were on a family trip to France, that had disappeared too. All trace of his family ever existing in the Dempsey's lives was gone. He held his head in his hands, she was gone.

_No_, he thought, _Maggie wasn't gone she was down in the tree house_. He was gone, he had evaporated into thin air. He would never exist in her mind. So he sat down on her unmade bed for what must have been an hour, at least that was what it had felt like, until his father called him.

"Draco!" He heard his father shouting from downstairs, "We're leaving now,"

"Coming," Draco said in half-hearted shout. He wanted to leave Maggie something, he felt that that was the least he could do after taking away a large part of her childhood. But he also didn't want her to forget him, he wanted that small memory to be in her mind even if she didn't know what it was from. He finally thought of something and quickly pulled the small quidditch manual from his pocket. Draco grabbed a pen from Maggie's desk and scribbled down a message on the inside cover. Now all he needed was a place to hide it, he needed a place where he knew only Maggie would discover it. Then he remembered something.

He pulled open some of the clear organizing drawers full of art supplies, rifling through the paint, crayons, and colored construction paper and pulled out a roll of duct tape. Draco put the book down on the writing desk and pulled out a long strip and ripped it in half. With the tape and book in hand he crawled under the desk and securely taped the hard cover book to the underside of the writing desk. Crawling back out Draco ran back down stairs.

"There you are my son, let us leave," Lucius headed out one of the back door with hiss wife Narcissa on his arm. As he passed the library, Draco peered in before rounding the corner out the door, there he saw Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey sleeping restfully in the large plush armchairs, books in their laps and a fire set in the fireplace. He quickly walked out of the house and closed the door quietly behind him.

* * *

Melinda sat at her table in the finely carved chair, head on the table arms wrapped around her face. Through her eyelids she saw something glowing and her right ring finger felt warm. Melinda lifted her head and looked down at her hand, the large lapis lazuli gem placed in a gold ring was glowing on her hand. That could only mean one thing...

Maggie was in trouble.

Melinda quickly slid her rusty black cauldron in front of her and poured different vials and bottles into it, the contents began to bubble and steam. Waving her hand over the steam there was a faint picture. Maggie at first, then Draco Malfoy pointing a wand at her, Maggie fell to the floor. Melinda poured half the contents of another bottle in to the cauldron and the steam and smoke faded.

She sprinted down a tunnel and emerged flying on a broom, zipping through the maze of tunnels of her cave. Seeing the mouth of the cave ahead, Melinda picked up speed and burst out through the entrance, a cobweb sticking to her face. At top speed she zipped through the trees and over the dam, past the pond, she dodged the roof tops with ease and flew up the long drive way which wrapped around to the back of Maggie's house. Melinda stopped her broomstick instantly at the site of what she saw.

"I knew it," she yelled, "I should have realized a Malfoy was behind this," Melinda could feel the rage building up in her face and her fingers gripped around her broom handle as she levitated in front of the Malfoy's. The three standing next to the car had an array of expressions, the man's was smirking, the woman's face was vacant, the boy's full of guilt.

"So you're the freak who was sent to watch over her," Lucius spoke with a smirk firmly planted on his face. Melinda's mouth moved into a snarl.

"What did you do to her? Where is she!" She screamed at Draco.

"You do not talk to my son like that!" Narcissa raised her voice, glaring at Melinda.

"Draco, Narcissa get in the car," Lucius said quietly. Draco opened the door and let his mother in and then himself and pulled the door shut behind them.

"I'm not one of your house elves lady!" Melinda screamed at her through the car door. She looked back at Lucius, an explanation flashed through her mind, "Trying to protect the one thing important _he_ could take away from you," Melinda had calmed down a bit.

"Shut up swamp scum," Lucius barked at her.

"I'm purer than you and your little family put together, you're the scum," Melinda smirked at him. She never really cared for bloodline, but she knew it would drive a wizard like Malfoy crazy. For Swamp Witches and Warlocks were the ancient ancestors of the contemporary witches and wizards.

"I know why you're here swamp witch," Lucius said to her as if she had never insulted him.

"If you think your so smart then tell me why," Melinda let the broom kick down and she swung her leg off it.

"I see you've taken a liking to that young girl," he smirked, "You should be starting to teach her about magic soon, am I correct? I thought I would have had to wait longer, I guess little Margaret is more pathetic and slow witted than I thought," Lucius saw Melinda's face begin to fill with rage once more, he gave her a disgusted look.

"You know I could kill you right now witch or you can do things my way," Reaching into his coat pocket he pulled out a vial three fourths of the way full of a blue tinted liquid and waved it in front of her.

"They both seem to be your way Malfoy," Melinda glared at him.

"Yes, I could kill you or you could drink this," once again bring the attention back to the vial.

"What is it," Melinda asked sternly.

"It's a forget-me-potion, take this and the idea of my family ever being here will not even be a dream."

"Or," Melinda said still glaring.

"Or...I kill you and Maggie will wake up, she will find your dead corpse next to her, and her little faerie will have to explain why you're dead. That of course will end up in a story of why you were even there in the first place, reali--,"

"Realizing her power." Melinda finished his sentence sadness in her voice. She looked back up at Lucius, "So its a win-win situation for you, you'll get what you want either way."

"Yes, but for you it's a die-live situation, and for those who don't follow my master, a lose-chance situation. How do you think the queen will feel if you do what you think is noble and die, but at the same time you'll be destroying everything you've worked so hard to achieve."

Melinda could not think of anything thing to say.

"Do what you think is best for Maggie," the remainder of a smirk was still on his face.

"Give me the bloody potion Malfoy," Melinda held out her hand and Lucius dropped it into her palm.

"You'll have two minutes before the potion takes full effect," Melinda gulped down the potion, "You better hurry, wouldn't want a muggle to find you." Melinda jumped on to her broom and kicked off zipping back to her cave. Behind her she heard the car roar to life and begin it's journey to the outskirts of town where it would be safe for the Malfoy's to disapparate. Feeling faint Melinda zipped back over the rooftops and over the dam and back through the trees. She stumbled off her broom and on to her bed. _I need to save Maggie..._

_

* * *

_

I opened my eyes and looked around my tree house, _when did I get here_, I thought. I sat up, crossing my legs until it hit me. My head began to pound and as a reflex I slapped my hands to my forehead and began to rub my temples. I could hardly think with the sharp twang of pain pulsing through my head. After a moment or two it subsided and I looked back up it was starting to get dark, my parents might be wondering where I am.

I stood up slowly in hopes not to bring back the pain of the headache and lightly walked over to the fireman pole and slid to the base of the tree. I saw the rope ladder lying in a heap on the ground. _What __happened to the ladder_, I picked up the end that attached to the hooks at the top of the platform, _stupid squirrels must of chewed through it_, I let it slip from my hands and fall to the ground once more. I began to trek to the back of the house through the gardens to find my parents.

I gently pulled the back door open and walked down the hall. And just as I passed the front door I heard a cracking and quickly backtracking I found my mother and father sleeping in the library with books in their laps and an almost burnt out fire. I smiled and shut the door quietly behind me. I climbed the stairs to my room just as my head began to pound again. I slipped off my shoes, lay down in bed, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Alright there are the first three rewritten chapters, I put these three up together because they all happen during the same time period. The next chapter will start six years after this. Also I would like to thank **TheSmallerGrayWolf** for the wonderful review! Thanks for reading!_


	4. Daydreams and Butterfly Leaves

Six years later...

My head rested against the foggy window of my friend Gil's car. It's clouded surface felt cool underneath my forehead and it did a better job of waking me up than the couple cups of coffee I had had for breakfast.

I pulled away from the glass and put my hand to my face to feel the chilly contrast of my forehead from my cheeks. Studying late into the night for my English and Mathematics exams had started to take a toll on me. My vision was a little unfocused as I squinted out the window. The trees and neatly lined houses flew past my eyes and, unfortunately, they were all covered in drizzly rain. It was not what I had hoped for.

"This is no way to start a summer," I groaned to Gil in the driver's seat.

"Mags you're making it sound worse than it actually is," he glanced at me and quickly turned back to the road.

"I wouldn't mind if it was rainy during a regular school day, I would see it as a way of not wasting good sun light. Let be icky all it wants when I'm forced inside." I threw my arms up hitting the car roof, "Oww!" I nursed my finger while I continued, "But we'll be done by eleven o'clock."

"You muggles complain far too much," he said.

"Well I just don't want to spend the last fifteen minutes of my exam period thinking about how I have to go walk about in the rain," I panted speaking in only one breath.

"Maggie there is no reason to hate the rain," Gil smiled sideward at me.

"That's easy for you to say, you're the merman," I smirked at him.

Yes, one of my best friends is a merman. I met Gil at school when I was eleven and we instantly hit it off. I was never really good at making normal friends, and my parents were glad I had made one (that they new about). However, I didn't know he was a merman at the time, in fact I didn't find out until I was thirteen. Gil is very good at keeping secrets. He would refuse to go in the pool, I never went to visit him at his house, and he had always managed to knock on the front door when ever I needed him. All the signs that something was up were there. I was just so used the the abnormal I just wasn't able to pick it out. And I still can't comprehend the reason for him to attend a muggle school granted I've never questioned him about it. But I can understand the secrecy, I guess, I wouldn't go around boasting that I was a mermaid now would I.

In fact how I found out was a bit strange and involved him in my bathroom tub, it was... interesting. But when he told me I knew I could trust him with anything and we've been best friends ever since. I was a little cautious about introducing him to Melinda, Vinette, and Soobie in fear they try to blow his head up when coming in eye contact so I explained to them and it turned out Melinda knew his family so I was safe. He had become yet another teacher of magic to me and I was ecstatic about it.

"What's that have to do with anything," he smiled at me.

"You know exactly what I mean Mr. Sailfin, you are some kind of fish and there for cannot live without water," I spoke in a ritzy voice.

"Yes but you are human and there for can not live without water as well Miss Dempsey," he said mimicking my tone.

"Yeah but I can go get a bottle of it out of the fridge."

"So can I," Gil said wiggling his legs so prove to me he was human like.

"Well..."

"What the amazing Maggie Dempsey can't think of anything,"

"Shut up!"

"I could have just let you skateboard to school in the rain."

"It wouldn't have even crossed your mind," I said, pretending to be appalled at his statement but he was right. Gil let out a sharp laugh at my expense.

"Okay lets go, exams start in twenty minutes," he said pulling into the student parking lot and turning off the car. I frowned at the word exams and stuck out my tongue.

I finished circling my answers to the multiple choice questions on my English exam and walked up to the front of the classroom to place it on Mrs. Weaver's desk. As I moved back to my place in the back of the room I looked over to the clock that read 9:10. I was wrong I had twenty minutes of staring out of the rain covered window ahead of me.

I propped my head up in my hands and stared out the window all the while listening to pencils and pens scribble around me. When chorused together they sounded like the gentle babble of a stream trying to tell a story that no person could understand. My eyes grew even more heavy as I began to wonder what they were trying to say. The scribbling noise seemed to become louder and more synchronized, sounding more like a river than a stream, I slowly drifted into a sleep that was light and half daydream.

* * *

_"I hate you Gil Sailfin," a twelve year old, brown haired girl screamed at a boy, presumably Gil._

_"Your no picnic either Margaret," he snapped back crossing his arms._

_Maggie looked at him, lip quivering, tears blurring her vision. She turned and ran across the street and through the front door of a large blue house, slamming it behind her the tears began streaming from her eyes. Her head moved from side to side, she was looking for a place to hide away from Gil...away from the world. And there was only one place she knew of that would let her feel safe. _

_Running as fast as she could Maggie went up the flights of stairs to her room, taking two at a time. She ran down the hall almost tripping and falling because she wasn't able to see two feet in front of herself. _

_Finally, when she reached the end of the hall and ripped the door open, she tripped, fell, and slid across the floor in one flight like motion. She got onto her knees and crawled underneath her writing desk. Tucking her legs against her chest she sat under the desk mumbling profanities to herself, the occasional "Gil is a codfish" could be heard. Sitting here under her desk had always been the place that she felt no one could touch her, no one could hear her, no one could hurt her._

_After what could have been ten minutes or an eternity, the tears left and her breathing became regular again. Maggie let her legs stretch out and tilted her head back and that was when she noticed a small book taped to the underside of the desk. It was a rather curious thing to find and like most children the chance of finding something new was so exciting that she had forgotten that Gil had caught her cheating at Go Fish and that she was mad at him. _

_The tape had started to peel back at the corners and dust had collected on them. So, like she was Indiana Jones trying to steal Aztec gold from a temple, Maggie carefully she peeled the tape off and found a the little book had a curious title._

_"Quidditch," Maggie whispered to herself, pronouncing it perfectly._

_And when she opened the cover she discovered that there was a note written to her on the inside. She read it quietly over and over trying to figure it out._

Dear Maggie,  
I'm sorry.

This book is very important to me so I wanted to give it to you. Hope you like it.  
P.S. don't show it to any one, you have to promise.  
- JC

_Maggie flipped through the pages; there were diagrams of three different kinds of balls and people flying on brooms and tactical plays. _

_"Jc...Jc," She muttered to herself while tapping a finger to her chin, "where have I heard that before?"_

_Maggie tried to come up with an answer but there was nothing. It was so familiar, like she knew who this person was but she didn't know how she knew that person or even if she had ever met them. Kind of like seeing a movie and recognizing an actor but not being able to name another movie they were in. She quickly shook her head._

_"Maggie?" She quickly closed the book when she saw her fathers legs walk into the room. "Maggie... Maggie..."

* * *

_

My father's voice faded and became someone else's, "Maggie?" I felt something poking me and whispering directly in my face. My head slipped from my hands and my face hit the desk.

"Oww..." I looked up and saw the classroom empty of students except Gil who had been poking me.

"Come on Mags lets get going." He hoisted me up and we walked out of class.

* * *

I sat in the school library with my legs curled underneath me trying to cram more information in to my head. I was hoping to at least pass my math exam so I was flipping through a pre- calculus book. S_ine of 270 is equal to... ugh this is useless._ I slammed the book closed and hung my head.

"Hey Maggie," Gil sat in the chair next to me.

"I don't think is possible to fit another fact into my brain, it might just explode," I hit the book in my lap.

"Not to happy with exams I see," I raised an eyebrow at Gil.

"You think," I mumbled sarcastically.

"Well don't you have to see Melinda today, or something, stuff like that always make you feel better." Gil had a point.

"Yeah but that means I have to walk there in the rain," I stuck my tongue out.

"I hear its important," he taunted me. The bell let out a sharp ring signaling that the next exam started in five minutes.

"I'll see you after exams Gil."

"See ya Mags." He smiled.

* * *

By the time I had gotten home from school the rain had stopped falling. But as I trudged through mud and wet leaves next to the stream every breath I took was so thick with mist that it was a little difficult to inhale. I looked up at a chirping bird and just as I did so a fat rain droplet hit me smack between the eyes. I flinched slightly from the impact but a smile pulled across my lips. That single droplet reminded me that I didn't really hate rain, I was only cranky from the lack of sleep. And I mentally noted to apologize to Gil for being such an idiot.

When I reached Melinda's cave I ducked my head down into it and shouted down the tunnels, "Melinda!"

"Melinda...linda...inda," my voice bounced around inside the cave. I had always wondered how big it actually was, it could very well stretch all the way across England and I wouldn't even know it.

"Come in Maggie." I heard Melinda's voice echo to me from a tunnel. "Third from the right." Traveling through Melinda's house was sometimes a problem. I remembered one particular visit when I had gotten stuck in a rather small doorway. I later found out that it wasn't a doorway at all, just a hole in the wall. My cleverness always amazes me.

Moving small dirt caked roots out of my way and stepping over large ones I reached the room Melinda was mucking about in. I inhaled the wet, earthy smell that this place always had after it rained. I was sweet and fresh and clean. Then I was hit with a realization. The room seemed so...clean.

"Maggie I'm sorry I wanted to introduce you to someone but he wasn't able to make it unfortunately," She said this not looking away from what she was doing and I wasn't really paying attention.

"Melinda have...have you cleaned," I said a little slack-jawed and looked around the cave with wide eyes. She had even swept the floor, and it was dirt.

"Well I'm always organized," she still wasn't looking at me.

"Yes organized. But never _this_ tidy," I was in awe. Even when everything was in complete disarray Melinda knew exactly where everything was right down to the last phial and newt eyeball. "You have no idea where your stuff is now do you?" she finally looked at me.

"No, but I'm working on it," she smiled.

"So why did you ask me to come anyway?"

"Where you not just listening to me?" Melinda tucked some stray hair behind her ear with greater force than was really needed.

"Well...I um...no not really."

"I was going to have a guest--," I cut her off.

"So that's why you cleaned! Oo is he some one special?" I could feel my left eyebrow arch automatically.

"Would you let me finish please," she snapped.

"Sorry," I said and dropped my brow.

"Alright, it was someone I wanted you to meet as well, but something came up and he will not be able to make it for a couple days, so be back here in two days, alright?"

"Same time?"

"Same time Maggie," she nodded.

"Okay I'll see you later Melinda," I started to make my way out of the cave until Melinda called after me.

"Maggie...now that I think about it there is something that I have for you, or show you rather," Melinda pulled her pearl wand from one of the many pockets on her dress. "Maggie," she said quietly.

"Yeah."

"You remember that lesson we had on the animagus and the formagus don't you?"

"Yeah I guess...it was a while ago, but I really don't see where you're going with this," I plopped down on Melinda's bed that had been dug into the side of the wall.

"Well then hopefully you remember that when someone is an animagus they are registered with the Ministry," I knew she meant the Ministry of Magic because I had had a long lesson about it once, "and it is an advanced form of Transfiguration so a witch or wizard must work hard to attain it.

"Where a formagus has the natural ability to transform into a specific animal but it must be," Melinda paused for a moment to pick out the right words, "activated, I guess you could say, with a specific spell. And after the power is presented that there is usually a clue somewhere on the person, in some circumstances there's a strange mark or a blatant indicator."

"Yeah," I nodded and perused my lips.

"Well I figure I should show you this now," Melinda lifted the long sleeve of her dress, and there wrapped around her arm was the image of a unicorn. The beautiful white beast was clearly defined in black around her arm.

"Melinda your a formagus?"

She nodded slowly, "Yes. Rather rare in fact because I'm not an un-magical creature. Like a frog or something."

"That's amazing, I never knew that," I smiled at her.

"Well that's not what I wanted to show you exactly," Melinda sighed and sat next to me. "Now I don't know exactly how I'm going to tell you this but, like me, you are an formagus as well..." she paused for a moment to let it sink in, but all I did was smirk at her.

"I'm a unicorn too?"

"No, yours will be different from me."

"Wow," I whispered silently at her, and all she did was nod. "What is it? How did I get it? I'm only a muggle."

"That will be answered soon but as to what it is I can trigger your power...if you want me to."

"That would be brilliant," I could feel my face light up with exictement.

"Alright but you have to promise me one thing."

"What's that?" I asked with wide eyes.

"You mustn't try to change your shape, not until you've gotten good control of it. And you can only practice with super vision." I nodded at her words, " Okay brace yourself."

I stared at her blankly. "You want me to what...? What do you plan on doing?"

"Do you want me to do it or not?"

My eyes wandered up to the left but then I shook my head yes.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I said with a little smile as I watched Melinda roll up her sleeves and she turned me around. She touched her wand to the center of my back and spoke a strange spell, not the usual one or two words in Latin spell but a verse of some kind.

"Let seers see her enchantments and feel her power,  
Even from far away in their dank old tower.  
And let it be known that she lives again,  
Up until the very end."

My back felt as if I had rolled around in lighter fluid and lit myself ablaze. Every inch of my body felt red hot and burning. The pain became far too unbearable but when a scream trembled up through my limbs and in to my throat it was caught there. I couldn't make a cry of distress, all the air in my lungs had escaped and I found I couldn't breathe. I fell back over onto Melinda's bed grasping my back to try to stop the pain. Finally there was an intense cold that flushed through my body. I started in the center of my back where Melinda had touched with her wand and radiated out from there until even my toes and finger tips were a little numb. I turned my head to Melinda and stared at her.

"Are you trying to kill me!?" I shouted, still a little loose limbed from the cold flush.

"You think that was bad, that was nothing compared when I was shown mine, felt like a thousand knives piercing my skin," I winced at her words and then noticed she was lying on the floor.

"What happened to you?" I mumbled still on her bed.

"Well when you have your mark revealed the person who reveals it feels the transformation as well," Melinda rolled over on the ground.

"So you...felt...Sorry," I muttered bleakly.

"On the contrary I new of the dangers, its not your fault," I smiled and sat up on the bed feeling no pain at all; Melinda pulled herself up from the floor.

"So I have a mark now?"

"Well it's not really a mark so much as..." as she said this I lifted the back of my shirt, there running up the side my back was an amazing image of a blue bird. "A mural."

"Wow," was the only thing I said and Melinda frowned at me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah its just...what kind of bird it that?" I turned to her.

"A phoenix."

"Really?"

Melinda nodded, "I'm sure of it."

I sat back down on Melinda's bed. A phoenix. _Figures_, I thought to myself. I would have something strange like that.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes Melinda," I said smiling and standing up, "I'll see you in two days," Melinda smiled and waved me goodbye and I left the cave, dodging roots once again.

* * *

I walked along the side of the stream jumping on rocks and fallen trees. I had lied to Melinda. I wasn't alright. I was _much_ better than alright. I spent my entire life with her and Vinette and Soobie and Flick. I was always the one one who wasn't magical. Always the one who had to fly the enchanted broom when we played a pick up quidditch game. Always the one who practiced the wrist flicking and and hand swishing of spells with a regular stick. Always normal.

Now I had something that was like them. Something magic. At the thought of it my fingers began to tingle and I rubbed them against my palm. _Maybe..._ I wondered as I picked a leaf from a tree. With the stem pinched between my fingers I focused on the image of a butterfly with the most detail I could behind closed eyes. When I opened them there was still a leaf between my fingers but it was no longer in its simple pear shape. It had split down the middle and curled around and expanded to take the shape of a pair of wings.

I smiled to myself and instantly wanted to tell Flick. At the thought of her I pressed my hand against the amulet under my shirt. I wanted to tell her but she now spent most of her time sleeping in the still vibrant colored velvet and would get rather cranky when I would wake her up. Melinda told me not to take it personally because most faeries have only room for one emotion at a time like the way J.M. Barrie describes them. And that one emotion, lately, seemed to be exhaustion.

I was pulled from my wonderment when I saw a figure standing off along the small makeshift dam, next to the pond that fed the stream. I wasn't sure how long it had been standing there and as I assessed the situation the butterfly leaf fell from my grasp.

The person was wearing a long black coat and a hat pulled half way down their face. I would be to my surprise if they could actually see where they were going. When the person noticed I was there further down the stream they faced me, I couldn't make out a face because of a mixture of the hat and the clouds from the earlier rain making everything dark and gray.

"Excuse me are you lost or something," I shouted over the person. The figure's head perked up and it ran over the dam and into the woods. _Okay then I guess your not lost_, I thought when there was a sudden loud crack, _Juuuust great now its starting to thunderstorm_.

"MAGGIE...Maggie," I heard Gil calling me from a path, I ran to his voice and found him standing at the edge of the road.

"Did you see that guy standing down at the dam?" I asked him once I reached the road.

"No why?"

"Never mind," I looked back down the path at the dam I little confused. Maybe that was the person Melinda was waiting for? Gil and I began to walk back down pond drive to get home.

"So what did Melinda want?"

"She wanted to introduce me to some guy, but he couldn't make it, or something like that, I don't know. She wants to see me back there in a couple of days," I said deliberately not telling him about my being a formagus and transfiguring the leaf. I wanted to keep my new magic to myself a little longer to better relish in it.

"Did she tell you who it is?"

"No, it never really crossed my mind to ask her," I shrugged my shoulders up a little.

"Oh," Gil said in a thoughtful voice then shouted, "I'll race ya," and he took off down the wet, puddle covered street.

"Hey I don't want to," I yelled after him finally picking up my pace into a run, "You might slip," I tried to convince him, "That's not fair you got a head start." I picked up speed and ran after Gil with a smile on my face.

* * *

_There's the next installment, I like this one much better than the original one and I hope you all like it too! Maggie doesn't get to Hogwarts for a little while longer, there is still a lot to explain so hang on and we'll get there. And I'll try to have a new chapter out every day or every other day since they are pretty much written. Don't forget to leave a little review because feedback is what keeps us writers going!_


	5. Elfish Souls and Wands

I slowly walked down the damp path towards the dam of the pond. My face couldn't help but light up at the sight of the little flowers and patches of grass that seemed grateful for the rain. I was finally heading back to see Melinda and this mystery guest of hers after my first days of summer break. I had been exercising my magic abilities but found everything I attempted didn't work the way I thought it would. But now I had a collection of butterfly and heart shaped objects hidden in the bottom of my sock drawer.

Not only had I been transfiguring rocks into the shape of hearts, I had also been wondering who this person was that would be visiting Melinda. Maybe it was another swamp witch, Melinda did always talk extensively about her family. But then again it could have something more to do with a new comer to the pond, maybe he was a new magical beast she wanted to introduce me to. But all of my answers seemed wrong. I didn't remember Melinda ever letting anyone in her cave, besides Soobie, Vinette, flick, and me, She's still a little reluctant with Gil when he picks something off of a desk. It must be someone important. My mind faded back to that day and then to the strange figure who ran into the woods. I shook my head. If that was who she had been waiting for I would find out soon. Walking along the stream, I reached Melinda's cave.

"Melinda I'm here," I had always been in the habit of announcing myself when I went to Melinda's. Half because I never knew where in her maze of tunnels she was and half because if I didn't Melinda would probably think I was a trespasser and blow me to bits with some kind of spell.

"Second to the left Maggie," I heard her voice echo in the cave. I still hadn't entirely memorized all the rooms in the cave, but this was one I had often visited.

"The tearoom?" I whispered to myself while following her instructions and entering the tearoom.

"Maggie," Melinda grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around to face a man. A very old man in fact. His beard was long and white, his clothes weren't regular muggle attire but long, deep purple robes, and his hat sat tall and pointed on his head. "I would like you to meet Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Melinda indicated to the man and he stood from his seat in one of many Melinda's many finely carved chairs.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," I held out my hand, he took it and shook it gently. I'm not sure why I greeted Albus Dumbledore like that but it seemed like the right thing to say to a man with a title such as his.

"The pleasure's all mine Miss Dempsey," he smiled politely and took his seat again. The three of us waited for a few moments of silence. I wasn't sure what do to or why I was even here to begin with, I tried to start up a conversation.

"So...there's a school for the magically inclined," I started rather awkwardly. Melinda meanwhile licked her lips and began to talk.

"Maggie, we have something important to share with you."

I raised my eyebrows and said 'really' in more of a statement than a question.

"Maggie," I looked to Dumbledore, "We, that is Melinda and I, believe that it would be in your best interest if you attend Hogwarts the next school year." I stood there speechless. I looked from Melinda then to Dumbledore until I was able to move my tounge to form words.

"Excuse me, did you just say what I think you said," I looked at him wide eyed.

"Yes you heard him right Maggie, we want you to go to Hogwarts,"

"But I'm not a witch," I said this quickly without thinking but stopped myself. I had been transfiguring things for the past two days. "I don't even have a wand," I looked at both of them as Dumbledore nodded his head a little.

"Maggie can I tell you a story?" he said to me quietly, "It might help to clear things up a bit."

"Okay," I was uneasy but he proceeded.

"Well I'm sure you know of You-Know-Who," just they way he said it, I could tell Dumbledore wasn't afraid of his name but I could also tell he knew it made Melinda shiver.

"Yeah, I've heard too many stories to even begin counting."

He nodded at me and continued, "Well shall I tell you another one?"

I nodded my head cautiously. Dumbledore cleared his throat and began.

"Not to long ago, maybe eighteen years give or take a few, a beautiful young woman, enchanted a Mr. Tom Riddle--,"

"You mean you-know-who," I said aware of Melinda's disliking.

"Yes Miss Dempsey, now he fell in love with her, for a few reasons. He did truly love her but he also loved her power."

"Her power?"

"Maggie please just let the headmaster finish," Melinda glared at me.

"Sorry, please continue," I muttered, Dumbledore smiled at me.

"Yes, her power, for you see the woman wasn't just any ordinary witch, she was Mirima Vanya Melda, Queen of the Elves."

"She was an elf? What's that have to do with anything." Melinda glared at me again.

"Well you see Maggie, elves have power even the most skilled and advanced wizards could not even dream of. Riddle and Queen Mirima had a child together. The king however, did not know of his wife's disloyalties and believed that the child was his own, after only a year or so the queen could not keep her secret any longer, from her husband or Riddle. She told both of them, Tom was as happy as ever, and as you can imagine the king was furious and he had the child killed on the spot."

"That's terrible," I gasped a little bit, "but what's this have to do with me?"

"Well you see Maggie," Melinda began to speak, "That instant the child was killed her soul escaped. It is said that when an elf dies it's soul inhabits another living thing, living along side the person or animals own soul, where the outside world cannot corrupt it. The instant the elf child was killed, you were born Maggie, and the princess's soul chose you to hide in." Melinda smiled slightly and Dumbledore took over.

"Do you see Maggie?" Dumbledore said as I nodded slowly hoping that a dizzy spell would hit me. "At birth an elven child is granted a faerie to protect them from the corruption of others to help them think for themselves." He paused and looked to Melinda.

"That's why you have Flicka Faye," She said quietly.

"Wait some things still don't make sense," they both looked at me, "If the princess's soul lives along side my soul...wait is Voldemort after me?" I saw Melinda flinch.

"Yes and no, he is after his daughters soul and he knows it's somewhere, and as far as we are sure he doesn't know it's in you."

"Oh."

"But there is another thing, he had the queen cast a spell on their child so if the king did sentence her to death, in the eighteenth year of the being the princess's soul is staying in, in this case you, your souls will fuse together and become one, the princess's power will be unleashed. The hope was that the princess's soul would be too powerful for the person to handle and eventually completely take over." He looked to Melinda.

"That's the reason I've been training you in magic, to help you control the intense magic of the elven girl's soul. This year will be the hardest for you. I've taught you all I can but if you go to Hogwarts the teachers will be able to help you control the power inside you. Do you understand Maggie, because it's very important that you do?"

"Yes I understand." I did understand, but something else hit me. If this was all true then the magic I could feel tingling in my fingers wasn't mine at all. I was someone else's, it was always someone else, "and I'm a formagus because the Elven princess was a formagus." I sat pondering further, "and this isn't my magic?"

"I'm afraid not," Melinda said quietly when she saw that my face had fallen.

"On the contrary," Dumbledore said, "it is quite your magic for the princess is part of you. And your the only one that can control it. Have you had any luck with transfiguring that rock in your pocket?"

I was shocked at Dumbledore's words so I grabbed a little heart shaped rock from my jeans and displayed it in the palm of my hand. "It's not much really."

"Well with the increasing fusion of the two souls your magic ability will grow and prosper, by the end of the summer, with the right training, you will have the abilities of a very talented witch of your age." Dumbledore stated.

"But I don't even have a wand," I repeated myself from earlier.

"That's where you're wrong," Melinda spoke up and pulled a long box from a drawer in the tea table.

"When the queen found that you were the one her daughter's spirit had inhabited she gave me this," Melinda held up the box, "and she made me promise that I would look after you and teach you to control your soon to be power."

"So what's in the box?" I asked staring at it intently.

"This," Melinda opened the box and inside was a beautiful wand made of a dark wood, the purple handle look as if had been made of marble. "Eleven inches, ebony with petrified Lilac handle, dragon heartstring, delightfully swishy.

"Wow, I don't know what that means but is...is that mine?" Melinda nodded her head and handed it to me and I smiled. I had never been so excited over a piece of wood before.

"So will you come to Hogwarts this coming school year?"

"Yes, yes I--," I stopped. What about my parents? What about finishing school? Dumbledore looked at me like he knew what I was thinking. And he probably did.

"You may go with your parents permission and we will take care of your schooling matters don't worry. But also if you go, for your own safety, we ask that you change your name."

"My whole name?"

"Yes."

"May I keep my first name, I'll probably get confused?" I questioned.

"No, nothing that could give even the smallest hint of who you really are."

"Do you need to know it right now?" I asked

"It would be preferable."

"Alright..." I searched my mind for a good name. Conjuring a name out of thin air was difficult, especially when it was officially going to be something that others would call you. I then remembered a book that my mother always loved to read during summer nights while she sat out on the patio. She could very well already be outside reading that exact book now. I had always liked the name of the main character. And with that I had it, "Anna Jennavie Nunes, does that suit?"

"That should do fine," he smiled without even writing it down, but I got the feeling that he didn't need to. "And Miss Dempsey don't tell anyone who you really are, even if you come to trust them whole heartedly. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Well I shall see you two again before you venture off to Hogwarts, good bye Melinda, Miss Dempsey."

"You can just call me Maggie," I said quickly. And with a smile and a strange pop he was gone.

"Well Maggie now that have your wand we shall begin practicing as soon as possible. All of the students have learned to use a wand since their first year at Hogwarts. Should we start tomorrow?"

"Sounds good, now all I have to do is convince my parents to let me go." I had a dilemma.


	6. Family Heritage

"All right Maggie, swish and flick," Melinda demonstrated with her own wand by pulling it through the air then flicking her wrist.

"Okay," I breathed in deeply, "_...wingardium leviosa..._" and with the proper swish and flick the chair I pointed to began to levitate in front of me. My mouth moved into an uncontrollable smile and I let the chair touch ground in the spot I had lifted it from.

"Very good Maggie, that's enough for today."

I was in an incredible mood. In the past four weeks of June I had been able put everything I had learned about magic and the wizarding world, from when I first met Melinda when I was five up to now, to the test. This was something I had always dreamed of. When Melinda had taught me spells I had wanted nothing more than to be able to preform them and have something happen. And when we made potions I wanted mine to be more then a bubbling pot of water, pond scum, and treeroot that I stirred around with a stick. Now I had real magic that I could actually use.

I grabbed the silk-lined box off of the tea table, carefully placed my wand back in and slid it into the drawer for safe keeping. And by safe keeping Melinda meant 'so you don't break it'.

"Mags that was brilliant!" Gil sat in one of the other chairs in the tearoom.

Melinda slipped her own wand up her sleeve and sat in the seat next to Gil, "Yes Maggie your wand work has improved incredibly. Your professors at Hogwarts will be impressed." She said this as she stood up again, Melinda was never one to stay still for long because she always had something on her mind. She pulled a jar of something out of another drawer of a different desk. The goo inside it was a little orange in color, I noticed, as Melinda scooped some with her fingers and rubbed it into her hands. "So... have you told your parents yet?" Melinda looked at me and raised her eyebrows all the while rubbing the orange goo into her fingers now. The strange flowery smell of the goo floated past my nose as I tried to answer

"Well not exactly, but I'll get to it, don't worry."

"Don't worry, DON'T WORRY! I am worried Maggie. It's been a month since Dumbledore came and you have to tell your parents. Soon you won't be safe here so you have to go to Hogwarts."

"Melinda, Maggie's right, don't worry," Melinda shot Gil a nasty look which he missed as a bug caught his attention.

"Maggie would be right... If she'd already told her parents!" I could see the heat rising in Melinda's face.

"I just don't know how to tell them," I sank into the chair next to my merman friend.

"If you want, I'll go with you Mags," Gil rested his arm around my shoulder.

"Then they'll think we've both gone mental!"

"I'll come as well Maggie," Melinda said calming down a bit.

"Do we have to do it now," I smiled at Melinda.

"Yea, I was hoping we could play some quidditch?" Gil walked over to the broom cupboard and opened it.

"I'm seeker!" I shot up from my seat.

"But your always," Gil started, I glared at him, "...Never mind," he said with his head hung low between his shoulders.

"I'll go get Soobie and Vinette," I smiled as I walked out of Melinda's cave. Quidditch was something I always looked forward to especially now that I didn't need an enchanted broom to play. I remember that first time I asked Melinda about it when I was twelve. She was very curious about where I had heard of it and I told her I found it in a book. I didn't tell her it was a little secret quidditch manual that I had found in my room. So she must have assumed it was in a stack of books she had lent to me because she had at least twenty of them on the subject. Melinda was an avid quidditch fan as well as a broomstick maker.

She had told me that her family heritage was in broomstick making for professional quidditch players, wealthy families, and peasants alike back in the day. I assumed that 'back in the day' meant somewhere around the fifteenth century. She said that since wizards had taken over the business and were able to mass produce them it put her family out of a trade. Melinda was a very good broom maker and she constantly told me that I couldn't trust wizard made broomsticks because they were without the personal touches of a Swamp Witch. 'You can always trust a Swamp Witch' was what she always said.

* * *

I zipped through the air, dodging tree branches and shrubs chasing after the small golden snitch. The afternoon sun kissed my face as I shot up through the tree tops hoping to catch a little glint of gold. Flick, who was happy to join in the game, flew close around my shoulders with a big grim on her face as the wind whipped around her clotted cream hair. I loved playing quidditch with my friends and it was funny to watch Soobie glamor into a human and try to fly around, he was never any good.

I saw the snitch off in the distance and zipped after it. Melinda had made Vinette her own broom because she was so small, but a killer quidditch player even if the quaffle was bigger than she was. My fingers closed around the little golden ball and I headed back to our makeshift pitch. And I remember the first time Gil rode one of Melinda's brooms and he crashed it into splinters. She was furious. It was hilarious. I kicked the broom down and everyone stopped around me.

"You haven't got it already have you?" Gil whined.

"So..." I held up the snitch.

"We've only been playing for a little over ten minutes," Melinda groaned, she acts like the two hundred or so years old she is but she can some times act like a child.

"Well then just keep on playing, it's not like were on teams, we don't even have enough people for one team." We never really had matches we just threw around the quaffle; we didn't have any bludgers either. I'd catch the snitch and then let it go and catch it again. Soobie, Vinette, Melinda, and Gil threw around the quaffle and Flick zipped around after me. After playing for another half hour Melinda landed softly on her feet.

"We should go talk to your parents now Maggie." I looked at Melinda with a frown.

"But I'm just getting warmed up! Do we have to go now?" Her mouth moved into a sarcastic grin and nodded she nodded at me.

"Come on Maggie it won't be completely horrifying," Gil dismounted his broom.

"Fine let's go." I got off my broom and walked in a sulk to put it away.

* * *

"Maggie you'll do fine," Melinda placed her hand on my shoulder for reassurance. The three of us stood at the back door of my house, Flick was on my shoulder. I could hear my parents milling about on the other side of the door. I could see the scene play out in my head. My mother was sitting in the kitchen reading a book while occasionally getting up to stir a steaming pot. My father was ducking in and out of the kitchen between watching television and keeping up a conversation about work with my mother. They would be expecting me back for dinner soon. And they would have no idea of the news I was about to bring them.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I whispered as I held my stomach.

"It's okay Maggie," Gil put his hand on my shoulder.

"But what if they say no? They would want me to start sorting out my life plans next year with schooling and-" Melinda, however, cut me off.

"Maggie if they want to keep you safe they won't say no." However this didn't make me feel any less nauseous.

"Okay here goes nothing," I opened the door and peeked inside.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart. I wasn't expecting you home so early. Is Gil coming over for dinner?" my mother smiled sweetly at me. Gil peeked over my shoulder, "oh hello Gil how are you dear."

"Fine Mrs. Dempsey, thanks." Melinda peeked over Gil's shoulder.

"Oh my, who is this?" My father said when he entered the kitchen and saw Melinda.

"Huh?" I looked back and saw Gil and then Melinda. "Oh this is Melinda, she's a friend of mine..." I trailed off.

"Oh dear, oh no," my mother was shaking her head; she sunk down into one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table.

"Mom she's not some kind of delinquent or something," I stared at her in disbelief, my parents were never people to judge anyone. "Yeah sure her hair is strange and she dresses like a tree--"

"Not helping," I heard Melinda whisper harshly.

"No Maggie it's not that, we know exactly what Melinda is."

"What do you mean what she 'is'?" I said, knitting my eyebrows together.

"Maggie, we know that she is a swamp witch," I father said blatantly. My mouth hung open, and I'm sure that Gil's and even Melinda's did as well.

"What!" Melinda blurted out. Gil turned around quickly and covered her mouth.

"How do you know that daddy?" both my parents looked at me.

"Why don't the three of you sit down," my mother gestured to the other chairs around the table.

"Okay," I gave a half smile and sat, Gil followed my lead. I turned to see Melinda still standing in the doorway, "You too Melinda, you're the one that wanted to come with me." I said and Melinda sighed.

"And you think my cave is clean," she mumbled sarcastically looking around. She stood next to the seat I had taken.

"Honey do you remember..." my mother began tearing up, "Jack can you tell her," my mum looked to my dad. He nodded.

"Maggie you remember your uncle Peter don't you?" I nodded I remember he died before I was born my mom didn't like to talk about him; he was her brother after all.

"Well, then you know that he is no longer with us," I nodded. I saw a confused look on Melinda's face, then Gil leaned over and whispered something into her ear. She nodded with her mouth slightly open, never taking her eyes off my parents. She was probably suspicious of their magical knowledge. "Well he was and forever will be a muggle born wizard," my head shot up and I stared at my father. The kitchen cabinets and stove started to spin together and blur. The words that spilled from my fathers mouth swirled around. I hung my head.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I looked up with sad eyes.

"Because, he was murdered for what he was...a muggle born," my mother's voice was shaky.

"Who killed him?"

"Who do think killed him Maggie," Melinda said this with an assured face.

"Oh," I felt the rage build up in my face, "no...no, NO!" I screamed and tears began to fall from my eyes. I didn't even know who my uncle was, and I hated Voldemort for killing him, for killing someone completely innocent, for loving an elf and sticking me in a situation there was no way for me to get out of.

"He attended a small wizarding school in northern Spain, my mother never told me why. I guess she was afraid of him. Peter told me himself," my mother choked.

"Well," Melinda looked at both of my parents, "there is something we must tell you Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey, Maggie is in great danger. She is a very special girl..." Melinda proceeded to explain how long I had known her and how she had been training me. And then explained about the princess and Voldemort, and that the safest thing for my well-being was sending me to Hogwarts. I introduced them to Flick. They seemed to understand.

"Are you sure that this is the safest thing for Maggie?" my mother questioned Melinda.

"If you wish for her to live," Melinda said bitterly, "the teachers will help her control what's brewing inside her."

"Alright she can go, but we want to see her during holidays," my father said sternly.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, sending her to Hogwarts is risky enough, we shouldn't send her back and forth."

Tears welled up in my mother's eyes, "If it's what's best, I don't want that scoundrel near my daughter."

"Don't worry Gil, the professors, and myself will not let that happen, I truly and deeply promise," Melinda smiled slightly.

"Okay she can go," my father and mother smiled at me.

"Really I can, oh thank you mum, thank you dad, I love you both so much."

"She is getting very good at her wand work, and her sense for astronomy is phenomenal," Melinda sounded like a proud mother.

"That's wonderful," my father was beaming, "I always knew my daughter was talented."

"When is she leaving?" my mum questioned.

"At the end of the summer," Melinda answered, "maybe before, so we can get her supplies she will need for school."

"Well, that's settled, your going Maggie," my mother finally said.

* * *

_Well how's it going so far hope you like it! Also updates might start coming in a little slower because my spring break is almost over so I have to hit the books again, but I'll try to a chapter done every three or four days. Maybe some ffn procrastination could be thrown in for good measure. And finally I would like to thank **Sinister074** for the awesome review! _


	7. Buses and Broomsticks

My fingers felt good being wrapped around the handle of my wand, Melinda had finally let me take it home to practice with since my parents knew about everything now.

I was trying to get a spell right. A combination lock sat in the palm of my left hand and I waved my wand with my right, chanting the spell.

"Alohomora..." nothing happened. I threw the lock at the ground in absolute frustration. Melinda had given me a list of spells that all first years should know by heart and I was able to preform them all fine. But when I got to this spell I just wasn't able to do it and no matter how many times I tried, it just wouldn't work.

Flick sat on my shoulder quietly singing a tune possibly to help me feel a little better. "You don't need to know everything," her little voice tinkled in my ear like a bell. Her comment seemed to fuel my determination.

"Accio lock," I said sullenly and when the it returned to my hand I tried again. And when that failed I threw the lock again, but further this time.

I was one the look out for Gil. Dumbledore was supposed to meet with us again to discuss Gil coming with me to Hogwarts to make sure I had a safe journey.

"So is there a reason that this almost hit me in the head?" Gil asked as he walked towards me, spinning the lock around on one of his fingers.

"Stupid alohomora spell," I mumbled.

Gil smiled at me, "so you won't be needing this then," he said and threw the lock behind him and we headed to Melinda's cave.

There were only five days of summer left before my first day at Hogwarts. Every day had gone by so quickly and yet getting to Hogwarts hadn't gone fast enough. Sometimes I get into these moods where when I get excited about going somewhere or getting something I try to find out all the cool things about it. This ended in me reading through _Hogwarts, A History_ for the entire month of July. And during particularly rainy days I would sit in my old, little tree house and read some of my favorite parts to Flick.

I walked carefully around rocks and bushes behind Gil while Flick zipped around in front of us. As we walked further away from the rock I was sitting on I sighed a little and stopped. Gil and Flick moved on ahead. I turned softly on my heel and called the lock back to me, "accio lock," I whispered so Gil couldn't hear me. "I'll get you yet," I said to the lock as I tucked it into my shorts pocket. Just then I heard a rustling and turned around but saw nothing other than Gil far ahead of me, _must have been a rabbit_, I thought to myself as I hurried down the side of the stream. I could have sworn I had seen little pointed ears.

"Hi Maggie!" Soobie pranced towards Gil and I, splashing the bank.

"Hey Soobie," I said as Vinette skipped over to Gil.

"Come on Mr. fish lips let's go," Vinette smirked at Gil as she skipped pasted him falling into a run.

"Just because I'm a fish doesn't mean..." but she was too far away for Gil to finish his sentence.

"Hey wait," I said as I lost my balance and my foot plunged into the chilly water of the stream.

Before I could even shout to Melinda that we were all here, there was a pop and standing beside Gil was Dumbledore.

"Sorry for being late Miss Dempsey I was a little busy with something," he said quietly to us.

"Oh we just got here, no worries, MELINDA!"

"Tearoom!" I heard her shout down from the tunnel. Dumbledore motioned us all in first. So I let Soobie, Vinette, and Gil in ahead of me. As I entered the cave I turned to see that Dumbledore had removed his hat and Flick had nestled into the gray hair on the top of his head. I faced in front of me again when I almost tripped down the slope of the dimly lit tunnel. Everyone took a seat in the wide, high ceilinged tearoom. Melinda soon entered with the short train for her dress dragging behind her. She huffed a little as she sat some boxes down in on the table.

"I'll be back in a second," she ran back down another tunnel. I heard a bigger huff coming from the dark and Melinda emerged dragging large trunk and a tall slim box. The trunk looked to be made of a shiny dark wood, or at least it would have been shiny without all the wear and tear. But it was the package that stirred most of my interest.

"Alright," Melinda said as she clapped the dirt from her hands, " it's wonderful to see you again Headmaster," she smiled at him. The way Melinda spoke to Dumbledore showed that she had a great respect for him. He smiled and nodded in her direction.

"Headmaster," I said using the tone Melinda had. For if she respected him he must surely be a great man. "This is Gil Sailfin," I pointed to Gil and he waved.

"It's nice to meet you Gil," Dumbledore shook his hand. "And Maggie I have something for you," he handed me a piece of parchment at the top was scribble classes.

I looked down at the list he had given me and I it felt like my jaw had physically dropped from my head. There had to be at least ten classes on this list.

"These are what you'll be taking Maggie," Dumbledore pointed to the parchment.

"All of these classes," I counted them quietly.

"Yes," as Dumbledore said this a little of my liking for him faded. "Oh and will be taking two care for magical creatures classes." My eyes widened.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping me, not piling on homework?"

"I spoke with Melinda and we believe you can handle the work. And I think that you need these classes. I'm sure you know a lot about the wizarding world seeing as you've been learning about it since the age of five. But most of that is just theory. If it does get to be too much we can always change some things around."

"But why do I have two care for magical creatures classes?"

"You'll be taking seventh and first year care for magical creatures. Melinda has told me that you don't have basic creature training."

I thought about it for a moment and then my eyes caught a thick and ancient looking book on one of Melinda's book shelves. _The Beastiary_ was what was scrawled up it's spine. And if there were that many creatures in the wizarding world, then I couldn't name them all. Dumbledore was right.

"And what are these N-E-W-T classes?" I asked

"The N.E.W.T. classes," Dumbledore said it as one word: newt, "are advanced classes, Melinda and myself feel you can handle them."

"Well Mags that's not too bad," Gil told me.

"Everything should work out perfectly," Dumbledore smiled.

"Alright now Maggie you are going to leave in two days for London, to Diagon Alley so we can buy you your school supplies," Melinda turned and placed the small boxes into the trunk and rolled it over to me. I kept my eyes on the larger box she had brought out.

"Maggie I want you to go home and pack your things, but nothing that could classify you as a muggle, so no electronics of any kind. Not that they would work anyway."

"But Melinda--,"

"No Maggie," Melinda waved her arms around. "The headmaster, Gil and I will discuss what will happen when you get to Hogwarts, so go home and get ready."

"Just one question. What's that," I pointed to the large package.

"That Maggie, is for me to know and for you to find out," Melinda grinned.

"Bye Melinda, see ya Gil, it was nice seeing you Headmaster," they all smiled at me and I left the cave careful not to trip this time.

* * *

The only thing I could think about as I walked home was the long package. But once I sat down on my bed and opened up the trunk it's own wonderment lead my attention elsewhere. I pulled out the five boxes Melinda had put in it. One was the box for my wand, but I wasn't sure what was in the other boxes. I opened the first one that was made of solid oak and it's lid opened like a treasure chest. But what was inside made me start to well up a little, it was Melinda's quaffle and golden snitch. Finding this kind of made everything official. I was leaving my parents, my home, and the cave by the stream. And who knows what will happen after Hogwarts. I might still be in danger from Voldemort. But I tried not to think about because just a little while before I was excited for the unknown that lay ahead and I didn't want to spoil it. So I placed the first box next to me and moved on to the next one.

This one was wooden as well but it was significantly smaller and I when I opened it inside was many slots with new phials and bottles either empty or full to the cork with powders and liquids. I pulled out one bottle with each hand. In my right floating around in a milky blue liquid was the small eyeballs of frogs and in my left was dried up, and crunchy lacewing flies. My mouth turned into a grimace and my throat felt hot with bile for a moment until I placed the bottles back and shut the lid of the box.

"Potion kit, definitely," I said regaining my composure. The fourth box contained parchment, ink bottles and, quills. And the last box, which was made of cardboard and could be thrown away, had a few books in it: Advanced Potion Making, Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and A History of Magic. I packed the boxes into the trunk next to the partial pewter cauldron set Melinda had already put in the trunk for me.

Then I packed mulled around my bedroom throwing everything I could think of to bring with me in a pile on my bed. Clothes, shoes, toothbrush, hairbrush, scarves, mittens, a winter coat, and little souvenirs to remind me of home. But when it came down to the 'muggle things' I couldn't help but pack my skateboard, _Melinda won't mind too much_, I thought, _what she doesn't know won't hurt her_; I smiled and closed the trunk.

"Finished packing already Maggie?" my mum and dad stood at my door I nodded to them still smiling.

"I'm leaving for London in two days."

My dad sat on my bed next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "We're really proud of you honey, we truly are," he then placed his hand on the top of my head like he always. I hugged him and then my mother when she sat down too.

"I'm going to miss you," I said as tears began to rim my eyes.

"We'll see you before you know it," my mum said as she rubbed my back. The problem was, I wasn't sure I believed what she said was true

* * *

That next two days I was beginning to feel homesick and nostalgic before even though I wasn't leaving until tomorrow night. I spent the mornings throwing last minute things into my trunk, which surprisingly had a lot of room left in it. And the afternoons I spent with Gil or Melinda. Taking the last of our hometown in with the former and spending time in the cave with the latter. And while Melinda was packing her things I had brought up the space in my trunk. She had told me that that was good because I had things to buy to put in it. And at night I had dinner with my parents. But the afternoon I was to leave I sat down in our laundry room where my mother kept boxes of old photos.

The photo boxes were scattered on the floor around me as I flipped through a stack of old photos. In the picture I was at the sea shore with my mum and dad, they must have asked someone to take a picture for us. All three of us where smiling even with the bright sun in our eyes. I looked at my small ten year old self in the photo.

I had changed a lot since I was ten, I looked nothing like the pasty skinned, light brown haired, gangly girl anymore. My skin had become a few shades darker than paste and little freckles from sun exposure dotted my it. My hair had darkened considerably from mousy to chocolate and I wasn't so gangly anymore. The only thing I recognized from the little girl in the pictures was my aquamarine eyes. I figured since my mum had blue eyes and my dad had green; I was a mixture of the two. I wasn't sure how long I had been down there until I looked at the clock on the wall. I was supposed to meet Melinda in her cave at eight o'clock, I wasn't sure why we were leaving so late but I never questioned Melinda's actions. She always had a reason for them.

I said goodbye to my parents. I tried not to cry but my mother's tears gave way to my own. My father ruffled my hair as I rolled my trunk behind me out the front door. Leaving them standing in the doorway to look out into the dark summer air.

* * *

"MELINDA," I waited for a response from outside her cave. When I was walking down the street I had ran into my neighbor Mrs. Finkle and had a short but incredibly awkward chat about where I was going and why I had such a enormous suitcase with me.

"Tearoom!" I heard echo around. I trudged down the tunnel for the last time for a while. When I got to the tearoom Gil was already there, sitting in one of the chairs.

"Hey," I sat down in the chair across from him.

"Hmm..." Gil looked up, "Oh hi Mags," he smiled at me. I heard cursing in another room and Melinda emerged from a tunnel carrying the large box from a few days ago.

"Hello Maggie I--"

"Whats in the box," I cut her off. I had kind of forgotten about it since my homesickness had set in.

"I was getting to it, hold on," she straightened her dress and cleared her throat, "Maggie, now I have been working on this for a while and I was going to give it to you at the right time...and now seemed to be the best, here's your going-to-Hogwarts present," Melinda slid the box on to the tea table and I looked at her.

"Wait we were supposed to get her something," Gil moaned.

"You shouldn't have...oh who am I kidding," I pulled off the cover and rifled through the tissue paper. My eyes lit up when I saw what was inside.

"I knew you'd like it," she smiled.

"Like it, its probably the best present I've ever gotten." Inside was a broom made of cherry wood and tied at the end with gold bands. It was absolutely elegant as it put even a firebolt to shame.

"One of a kind you know, I call it the scarlet phantom, made by a swamp witch and you--"

"You can always trust a swamp witch," I had taken the words right out of her mouth.

"Oh and I also have this," Melinda pulled out a long slender case. "You can put it in this for traveling on the train." I unzipped the case and carefully placed in the broom.

"Ready to go," Melinda grabbed her bag; Gil did the same. I slung my new broom over my back and rolled my trunk behind me. We made our way up the path, reaching the side of the street.

"Melinda how are we getting to London exactly?" I asked.

"You'll see," she smirked. Gil's eyes widened.

"No Melinda, no no no no no, I refuse to--," before Gil could finish there was a loud horn and before my eyes a violently purple bus appeared and pulled up next to us. "Take the Knight Bus," Gil finished. I looked up at the three-deck bus.

"WOW," I mouthed.

"Got flick?" Melinda asked to me quickly, I nodded patting the amulet under my shirt.

"Welcome to the night bus, Melinda nice to see you again...well come on then," the man, whose name tag said Stan, lugged up my trunk. I followed Melinda and Gil onto the bus. I looked at the beds and then up at the chandelier, sitting down next to Gil he turned to me.

"I'd hold on if I were you,"

"What?" and with that we took off. I let out a little squeak.

Everything bounced around at I looked at Melinda who was trying to loose the gaze of the bus attendant.

"When do we get off Melinda?"

"The Leaky Cauldron," she said her voice shaking from the bus hitting a pothole. _The Leaky Cauldron sounds...interesting_.


	8. Lost in the Alley

When I awoke the next morning in a small, dank room at the Leaky Cauldron my neck was a little sore from the mild whiplash I had received on the Knight Bus. It had happened when the driver stopped sort to let a little orange cat cross the street. As I rubbed my neck I finally began to notice the features of the bedroom we where staying in because once we arrived in London and were given a room I laid on my bed and fell asleep. There were three beds on the north side of the room and a large vanity on the south, at the far end, on the east side, there was a small window whose glass was fogged with dust and grime so that the sun threw concentrated beams of lights over the room. The paint at the corners of the room was peeling in places and some of the wooden paneling was sun bleached. But even with these imperfections the place was cozy and inviting.

To the left of my middle bed I could see that Gil was twisted in his sheets, arms and legs thrown every which way. I saw Melinda sitting at the vanity writing something on a piece of parchment with a look of great thought on her face. This face had told me that we had some serious stuff to do today so I sat up in bed.

"Oh good you're up, get ready will you," she whispered to me trying not to wake up Gil.

"Why are you up so early?" I said squinting at the rays of the sun.

"Well your leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow and we have shopping to do."

"Really? I don't think I've ever seen you shop before. It was more of a, fish-the-algae-out-of-the-pond kind of thing."

"Well that's all I ever needed really," Melinda was still hunched over the parchment, writing.

"And where are we going to get money, I'm sure people here don't use pounds," I said thinking of the few bills my mother had slipped into my pants pocket when I left last night.

"I have plenty saved up, now get dressed," she pointed to my trunk. "Oh and ask Gil if he wants to go okay?"

I grabbed some clothes and stumbled into the small bathroom. The water from the shower head was warm and smelt sweet, it was nothing like the water I would have expected in London. I walked out rubbing the towel through my hair and let it fall over my shoulders in a mess.

"Here let my help you," Melinda took out her wand and tapped me on the head, my hair was dry instantly but still stuck out in a mess like Gil's limbs in his sheets. I rifled through my trunk to find my brush but it was stuck. I pulled with force that had been just too much with a grip that was not tight enough and the brush flew from my hand and hit Gil square in the face.

"What the..." Gil fell out of his bed and hit the floor. "Oi, what the bloody hell was that."

"Sorry Gil it slipped," I looked at him with a nervous smile.

"So let me get this straight, it slipped into my face?" Gil sounded aggravated as he rubbed where the brush had made contact.

"I said I was sorry."

"Enough you two, okay Gil were going to get Maggie her school supplies. Would you like to come?"

"Nah I'd rather sleep, I'll meet you guys for lunch," He laid back in bed.

"Alright then are you ready Maggie?"

Melinda asked me this as I was pulling my hair up into a ponytail. "Hold on," I said with another thought on my mind. I strapped my broom across my back. "Okay lets go." Melinda smiled and I followed her out the door.

We walked through the Leaky Cauldron. I smiled at one patron who tipped his ratty top hat in my direction as we left the Inn through a back door. Where we were met by a brick wall. All I could do was stare at it.

"And how do you suppose we get past that?"

"Be patient Maggie," Melinda said as she held out the piece of parchment that she had been writing on in our room earlier. It was a list of the remaining school supplies that I needed. I smiled as I read it because it didn't contain the usual pencils, notebooks, and folders that I usually got but strange things. Like a small and extra small pewter cauldrons and an owl.

I then watched her take out her wand and tap at few bricks, three up and two across. Suddenly the wall creaked and cracked as the bricks spun and refit themselves together to reveal the hustle and bustle of witches and wizards doing their daily errands.

"Maggie welcome to Diagon Alley," Melinda turned to me. "Shall we?" Melinda asked as she grabbed at my elbow. What I saw in front of my eyes was simply amazing. The vendors were shouting out the values of their goods. Seven sickles for some slimy things in a barrel and five knuts for a scoop of black beetle eyes. I had only just had a glance so far and I already felt like I was supposed to be there.

I felt Melinda's hand slip from my arm after she had said something to me that I didn't quite catch. That's when I saw it. A large display window that had children much younger than myself huddled around it, all of them with gaping mouths and drool-y lips. It was the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies and sitting on a golden rack was a broom so spectacular my jaw dropped a little bit too.

"How much it is?" one of the little boys in front of me asked with sparkling eyes. He pushed his dirty blond hair from his eyes and squinted into the window, probably looking for a price tag. Another dark haired boy, most likely around my age, answered.

"If you have to ask then you can't afford it," he had replied in a voice full of awe rather than smugness. But the little boy turned and stuck his tongue out at the second boy anyway. That's when he saw me standing there watching the scene.

"What kind of broom have you got?" I was confused at first because I hadn't realized that he was talking to me.

"Oh, it's err... nothing special really," I hesitated. I was suddenly embarrassed over my broomstick because it wasn't as incredible as the one displayed in the window. And before the blond boy could ask it he could see it I jumped into a crowd of passing wizards who were talking heatedly about the exactly a shrinking solution worked and wouldn't notice me. I finally made it out the other side of of the tightly packed wizards and stood in a panic outside of a shop with a big sign that read Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I didn't know where I was and I was alone. My knees began to shake and I whipped my head from side to side. I had lost Melinda. Walking over the cobblestones I looked around the busy alley, which seemed far to big to be considered an alley in which one could get lost in, and peered around the corner. This extension was darker and more dismal than the rest of Diagon Alley. There were a few people mucking about in and out of shops but they were a more vicious looking bunch.

There was a tug on my sleeve and I looked down to see a little elfish creature with big globular eyes staring up at me.

"I wouldn't be going down Knockturn Alley missus," the creature's voice was so shaky that I felt the need to oblige. I nodded my head and backed away slowly from the corner as if I were trying not to move too quickly for fear of being attacked by a bear.

"Maggie, over here," I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I turned to see Gil waving his arms ferociously in my direction, he had decided to come after all. Next to him was a none too happy looking Melinda with two small cauldrons in the crook of her elbow. "Come on lets go." I felt my brows raise up in relief, I was happy that they found me but I was mostly relieved that nothing had come out of Knockturn Alley jumped me. I hurried to the shop across from the ice cream parlor and into it: Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, as I had read on the sign.

"Where were you? I told you to wait there for one moment! But when I came out of the cauldron shop you were gone," Melinda threw a quiet hissy fit at me as I stood next to her in front of the counter.

"What can I get for you ladies," I round faced woman said from across the counter.

"Six black robes please," Melinda smiled and slid a bag of money across the counter.

"Right this way," she smiled and I followed her. As I stood up on a pedestal while Madam Malkin draped black cloth over me, sticking pins every which way, sticking me a couple times. Only fifteen minutes of unpleasant acupuncture, Madame Malkin scurried into a back room with the measured cloth and in only a few minutes more she returned with five perfectly crafted robes.

"There you are dear," she handed me the robes.

"Thank you," I smiled slightly, until I heard a harsh voice behind me.

"About time," a terribly blond boy said as he pushed past me. I was stunned never had I met someone so rude, and I attended public school mind you, all I could do was glare at the back of his head.

Melinda quickly grabbed my arm and began to pull me out of the shop, but I wouldn't budge. I was not going to let someone push me around like that. I began to stomp over to where the boy was but before I could take more than two steps Gil pushed me out through the doors.

"Lemme at him, lemme at him," I shouted at the closed door of the shop.

"Calm down Maggie, just let it go," Gil stared at holding me in my spot. I let out a large breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Come on lets get the rest of your things," Melinda said and dragged me across the alley.

* * *

Draco Malfoy walked into Madame Malkin's robe shop and stood at the counter impatiently, he was in a hurry. No one was in the shop, as he thought, until he noticed Madame Malkin herself was over fitting another girl that he had never seen before in his life. The free hair from her ponytail hung in her face and she stood at an awkward angle. He would of thought she was a first year but she was far too tall.

"Just one more," Draco heard a hag whisper to the girl. Finally after waiting for what felt like and hour. Madame Malkin quickly scurried into her back room and finished the robes.

"There you are dear,"

"Thank you," the girl said sickly sweet.

"About time," he mumbled. Draco pushed past the girl, as he walked towards the pedestal he felt the cold sting of a glare being thrown at the back of his head. He then heard stomping and then dragging, and the tinkle of the bell that hung from the door. Draco rolled his eyes as he heard yelling outside.

* * *

Melinda, Gil, and I walked into a bookstore after getting the quills and extra ink I needed. Melinda read off the books and with each one the man behind the counter plopped the them into a pile between Melinda and himself. "We need Advanced Rune Translation," plop, "The Dream Oracle," plop, "The Monster Book of Monsters, The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why Muggles Prefer Not to Know, Achievements in Charming," plop, plop, plop, "and One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," plop.

I looked at the pile of books. _Oh geez all of those_, I thought. I already had a collection in my trunk as it was. Melinda handed the money over the man and we struggled out of the store with arms full of books, robes, cauldrons, and ink wells.

"Last stop, Eeylops Owl Emporium," Melinda said over her shoulder to Gil and me as we marched through the crowd. I saw Gil's mouth open slightly as he caught a glance at the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Melinda do they play quidditch at Hogwarts?" I asked and Gil looked at me with a smile.

"Why yes, I believe they do..." Melinda's shoulders fell and I knew had seen what we were looking at and she sighed.

"Fine fine, you two can go," she held out a velvet bag of money and I snatched it out of her hand. "But you still have to get an animal."

"You can get it Melinda!" I ran off Gil at my heels and my arms full of books.

"Okay but you'll have to live with what you get!" Melinda shouted at us from across the street. She looked down and shook her head. "What will I ever do with her?" was the last thing I heard her say.

Gil and I stepped in to the shop and I looked around in awe. I had never been in a shop like this because they obviously didn't have them back home. I mentally checked off the things I wanted to get. My little quidditch manual had a list of preferred equipment in it that I had memorized just in case I had the chance to get those things. I needed a footrest for my broom most of all.

I walked to the man at the counter and asked where I could find one. With his simple instructions I walked down a deserted aisle but I didn't see them. Standing in the aisle, looking around I suddenly had a feeling like I was being watched. I was still a little uneasy with being by myself in Diagon Alley to brush it off I sped around the corner.

* * *

Harry Potter was fiddling with some quidditch gloves while leaning against the railing of the second floor of Quality Quidditch Supplies, over looking the first floor. Accidentally, he dropped one of the gloves over the side and because it was out of his reach all Harry could do was watch it fall to the floor. It was then that he noticed a girl walking down one of the aisles with a strange broom in hand, one he had never seen before. He watched as she quickened her pace and turned the corner.

* * *

I walked with Gil out of the store with my loot: a footrest, some gloves, and a pair of goggles. I saw Melinda standing outside of the shop with a cage some how looped onto her fingers even with the books and robes in her arms, inside the cage was a barn owl. It's flat, heart shaped face looked quizzical and all knowing to me. I reached my finger in between the bars of the cage and scratched it under it's beak.

"Melinda what's that for?"

"Maggie this is your new pet, you'll need Septimus here for transfiguration,"

"He's beautiful," I was in awe of the magnificent bird. Gil was looking only a fraction of impressed as I was.

"I don't like birds," he hissed a little and Septimus clicked his beak at Gil

* * *

I sat on my bed and watched Flick prune Septimus' feathers, he cooed at her and her tiny hands rubbed over his plumage.

"Are you all ready for tomorrow Maggie?" Melinda turned from the vanity. I nodded. "Remember that Gil is going to ride with you on the train." She pointed to the bathroom door when she said Gil's name because he was in there showering.

"What's he going to do when I get to Hogwarts?"

"Oh something about staying with a relative, but he said he'll always be near by," Melinda said. It put me at ease that Gil would be close because once I was on the train Melinda was going home back to her cave. When I asked her it there was any way to contact her she told me it would be to risky. She told me she would know if I needed her and as she said it she tapped her lapis lazuli ring on her finger. I have no idea why but she often did that.

"Melinda, where is the train?"


	9. Stones and Carriages

I watched Gil disappear through a brick wall between platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross station utterly bewildered. I looked down at my ticket then back to the brick pillar and then down to my ticket again, Platform 9 ¾ it read. I had asked Melinda if a platform 9 ¾ actually existed and she had laughed a little bit at me like I was a small child who asked mad questions. But I was pretty sure she was the one who had gone round the bend.

"Alright Maggie your turn," Melinda smiled, "Just run right at the wall." My eyes widened.

"YOU WANT ME T--," Melinda quickly pushed her hand over my mouth.

"Do be quiet! You'll cause an unwanted scene" she whispered harshly, "Just run at the wall, Gil will be on the other side."

I gave her a concerned look. "Trust me," she said.

"Fine..." muttering this like a whiny child would, I pulled my trolley in front of me and centered myself at the wall. My breath had gotten a little more strained in a way that reminded me of my first time learning to fly on a broom. Melinda had enchanted my mother's best broom that I had stolen from the kitchen cupboard. As I was rising into the air my lungs tightened and I had a horrible feeling that something bad was going to happen. It didn't of course, but the second time I broke my left arm.

I pushed the memory from my mind, pulled as much air into my lungs as I could and shot off. Preparing for the impact I found there was none. I slowed my frantic pace and just kept going because I didn't have the guts to look. My trolley bumped into something soft and there was a snort of laughter.

"Mags you can open your eyes now," I heard Gill say just before the sound of a loud horn ripped through the air. I opened my eyes and there I saw a huge scarlet colored train with HOGWARTS EXPRESS printed down the side of the engine. Melinda appeared from the wall right behind me.

"Well you two should get on the train, it'll be leaving soon," Melinda sighed, I could tell she would of rather gone with me instead of sending Gil. And she probably would have too but she was to make sure that my parents were going to be just as safe as I was.

"I'm gonna miss you Melinda," I turned to her and gave her a big hug and to my surprise she tapped my back lightly.

"I'll miss you too," she smiled with out eye contact and then she fixed her eyes on Gil, "Bye Gil, and if anything happens to her..."

"See ya Melinda," Gil rolled his eyes and waved. I pulled my trolley over to the man putting the trunks on to the train and followed Gil.

Traveling down the narrow hallway of the train Gil and I found an empty compartment. I hadn't been on a train in ages, not since I was six, and the smell of leather, pastries, and soot made my lips pull into a cheery grin. Everything about this train made me happy. Why I was on it. Where it was taking me. Everything. Gil placed his bag overhead and I put a caged Septimus next to it.

Plopping down on to the seat made Gil look across to me.

"Are you excited about going?" Gil sat down as well, but in a manner that was fluid and elegant. There must have been a ridiculous, toothy smile on my face still because the sound of the question was almost mocking.

"Are you kidding, I don't even think... I can't even...." I was at a loss for words really. There wasn't anything to describe the mixture of excitement and joy and curiosity that had begun to course through me the moment I opened my eyes to the Hogwarts Express. Gil smiled at me and sat back in the seat. "Do you know anyone there? At Hogwarts I mean," I asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"Yeah actually I do, I know--," Gil was cut off when someone was thrown squarely against the compartment door. We both looked over from our window seats a little rattled. All I could see between the two rather large boys pressed against the door was a flash of blond and a gleam of shiny black hair. I looked back at Gil with a confused face.

"Slytherins," he mumbled, "Bunch of idiots if you ask me." I looked back at the door and they were gone.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sauntered down the tight train hall with Crabbe and Goyle in front of him to ward off anyone unwanted. He thought this rather ingenious. And there would have to be back patting involved later on.

That's when he saw her. Well two hers really, first was that girl from the robe shop sitting across from a student he had never seen before talking about something he probably didn't care about. He usually didn't bother to remember things like people's faces but he had heard her yelling through the door after she was dragged from the shop, creating a scene. Something that he could store away and save for some good old rainy day torment. He laughed to himself. But the second her, or thing as he always bemused himself with, was Pansy Parkinson stumbling down the hall right towards Crabbe and Goyle. He wasn't too uneasy with her presence until she whipped the two rather large boys against the door of one of the compartments. She grabbed Draco by the arm as he muttered a couple of words that would have caused his father to hit him in the back of the head.

"Hi Drakie I've been looking everywhere for you," she beamed at him.

"Taking those hippogriff vitamins again I see, Pansy," he looked to Crabbe and Goyle only finding them running down the hall. So much for warding anything unwanted off

"Wonderful of you to notice," she said, her voice thick and sweet with adoration. She dragged Draco down the hall and shut him in the compartment Crabbe and Goyle had escaped to.

* * *

Ronald Weasley stood, rather distraught, in the train hall with Harry and Hermione "Sorry Ron but we've got to go to the prefect compartment," Harry tapped him on the shoulder, hoping to bolster his confidence.

"But I, But I-"

"No buts Ronald, we'll see you later..." Hermione sighed deeply, "you'll find someone to sit with," and she smiled reassuringly at him in a way that didn't make him feel any better

"Fine I'll see you guys later," he mumbled. Harry and Hermione walked in the opposite direction he did.

Ron was absolutely frazzled. He peeked in each compartment in search for a place to sit. The one containing Neville and his sister was completely packed with the rest of his friends and there was no way he could ride comfortably to school. The second one was full with an assortment of Hufflepuffs, Griffindors, and Ravenclaws. The next was occupied by a small group of Slytherins, which made Ron stick his tongue out with disgust. In the fourth he saw a particular Hufflepuff he didn't like and the one after that was full.

As he got closer to the back of the train car Ron was almost ready to throw himself onto the floor and ride to Hogwarts there, he would even find a way to dodge the trolley that was loaded with sweets. He glanced slightly into the compartment half way down the car and only half registered that he had seen one of the occupants before. This was because he was wrapped up in a scheme to filch some sweets. But when it finally hit him he stopped in mid-thought and backed tracked.

"Wait a-," Ron slid the door open and stepped inside, "Gil?" the boy looked up at Ron as well as the girl.

* * *

I turned round from the window to see who had said Gil's name and saw a boy standing in the doorway. His hair was flaming red, his freckles looked like they were thrown carelessly across his face, and he was rather tall. All of these things gave him a certain aire that was considerably warm and exciting. Although maybe it wasn't his appearance but the fact that he was a wizard that made me feel that way.

"Ron? I haven't seen you in a while," Gil stood up beaming in a way that reminded me of the sun after a long night. The two shook hands and the boy, Ron, I believe was what Gil had said, I hadn't been paying much attention to what was being said, just to the presence of the wizard, sat down next to Gil.

"What no man hug?" I looked across to Gil.

"Funny," Gil said wrinkling his nose in my direction and then turned to Ron, "Ron this is Ma-,"

"Anna Nunes, its nice to meet you," I shook his hand.

"Ron Weasley." He had said it in such a jolly way that I couldn't help but smile. "So Gil I haven't seen you in a long time, are you going to Hogwarts this year?" Ron play nudged Gil in the ribs.

"Oh no Anna is, I going to visit my aunt Pearl,"

"I didn't know you had an aunt up near Hogwarts?"

"She lives in the Black Lake," Gil said. I laughed to myself a little, of course Gil's a merman, his aunt lives in a lake. I was starting to catch up now, the _clever_ thing that I was.

"Oh right, well you'll make a few quidditch practices won't you? I'm sure Harry will let you practice with us."

"You play quidditch?" I blurted out quickly with far too much excitement and enthusiasm. Ron looked at me funny.

"Yeah why? You play?"

"She's only the best seeker I've ever met," Gil chimed in. I whacked him in the shoulder.

"I'm not that good," I could feel my cheeks tinge pink with embarrassment. Ron could very well be better than I was, he's probably been a wizard all his life and played Quidditch all his life. I've only been a witch for a couple of months...

"Yeah you are, you're brilliant," Gil smiled.

"Well then you'll have to try out for your house team," Ron nodded.

"A what team?" I asked, a little confused. Was this some kind of lingo I didn't know?

"Oh, you don't know what a house team is?" Ron seemed confused when I shook my head, "Really?" I nodded. "Didn't you go to another magic school somewhere?"

That question hit me like a brick wall, very unlike the one at King's Cross. I hadn't even thought about things like that. I never got the full run down from Dumbledore and it was making me panic. "Umm..." I tried to think fast, "Umm...no I went to a muggle school..." Ron looked at me even more sceptically by the second and Gil put his hand to his face. "My parents taught me magic at home, they believed that they were best suited to teach me." I blurted this out so quickly I wasn't even sure that it had formed a coherent sentence.

"So you've never been to a real wizarding school?"

"No not exactly." Gil looked slightly relieved by my lie but his look still said 'how are you going to get yourself out of this one'.

"Well Hogwarts isn't complicated really, you have your four houses: Gryffindor, my house, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, but you don't want to get in there." Ron continued to rant on about Hogwarts, about the teachers, playing quidditch, schoolwork, and trips to Hogsmeade. With every word my panic and worry melted and there was only grand stories of a great castle and magic. I wasn't sure how long we talked for but it made the trip pass smoothly..

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat in a compartment while Pansy had her grubby hands iron locked around his arm. He glanced down at his hand, which was slowly losing color and beginning to tingle.

"Uh...Pansy," his voice started out quiet and calm, "could you LET. GO. OF. ME!" Of course that was not how it ended. Pansy quickly dropped her hold and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Don't you love me Drakie?"

"I have to go to the prefect compartment, for some meeting," Draco snapped as he grabbed the bridge of his nose. He then got up quickly and almost ran out the door.

Once he was sure that he was free from the monsters clutches Draco slowed his pace to a casual walk. As he stalked down the hall he, being the kind of person that he was, peeked in compartments to see the other students gabbing away to their friends. It was then he realized that he was near the compartment that girl was in, the girl that had been at Madame Malkin's. Walking past, Draco glanced in but he saw her talking to a Weasley seeming actually interested in what he was talking about. It sickened him to see a Weasley try to hold a conversation, the way they almost always drooled, he should intervene. But Draco thought twice and continued to the end of the train for his meeting.

* * *

"Wow, I didn't know there was that much to it," I spoke slowly after Ron had fully explained everything.

"But it's bloody fun, you'll love it," Ron raised his eyebrows.

"It sounds great."

"Hey the train is stopping," Gil said. I looked out the window into the setting sun. And on a hill across of what I figured was the Black Lake was an immense castle. It was strangely beautiful with the red glow behind it reflecting in the lake and bright light coming from a series of tall, arched windows.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Anna," Ron looked at me as my face lit up.

"Come on," Gil said and I followed him out of the compartment, robes flowing behind me. "I'll see ya later Ron," Gil waved behind him as Ron ran off into the sea of students.

We walked along the side of the lake staying out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the other students as they ambled out of sight. Gil was telling me to go get a carriage to ride up to the castle. But as usual I was only half listening to what he was saying. Gil grabbed my arm to stop me.

"This is as far as I go."

"What do you mean?" I giggled at the way he had said it, his voice sounded like John Wayne from the westerns my dad used to buy off television and watch constantly during the colder months of the year.

"Your on your own from here kid."

"Okay enough with that."

"Sorry," Gil smiled apologetically with his normal voice.

"But you're serious though, I really am on my own from here huh?"

"Yeah but if you ever need me there is one way to do it," I looked a Gil confused when he pulled a small white pebble from his pocket and handed it to me. I turned the pebble in my palm, it wasn't just white but I could see small flecks of blue and green in it.

"It's a rock."

"Ahh but not just any rock, it's a retrieving stone," Gil picked the stone from my hand and held it in front of my face.

"Okay so it's a stone."

"No...ugh...okay let me explain."

"Alright."

"If you ever need me all you have to do is come down to any where near this lake and throw the stone in, and I will find you. Okay?"

"Your mad."

"Maggie just do it."

"Fine, but it's Anna remember," Gil took a deep breath. He had forgotten that at Hogwarts I wasn't Maggie Dempsey I was Anna Nunes,

"Sorry about that on the train."

"Don't worry."

"You should get going now and go find a carriage," Gil pointed at the line of them that had come into sight.

"Bye Gil."

"Bye Mags, remember if you need me--,"

"Throw the rock in the water," Gil mumbled 'stone' under his breath but smiled at me anyway and dove into the lake. I saw a small line of bubbles and then nothing but the glassy surface of the water.

I found myself an empty carriage, much to my surprise after watching the large groups of people file towards them, and sat down at the far end. I turned my head sharply when I heard the door open.

"All alone I see," Ron's red hair and messy freckles made me smile.

"Well I'm beginning to think that you don't have any friends at all."

"Hey I do to have friends," he said defensively as he sat across from me, "but they're the Gryffindor prefects so they get special carriages and compartments," Ron waved his hands around and I shook my head at him.

"What," he said this defensively also. "Well I know one thing, Hermione will like you, that's for sure." The door opened again and I saw three boys and a girl standing outside.

"Hey guys," Ron waved. "Um Anna this is Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Luna. Guys this is Anna," they all said hello to me in a different way. And as they all piled in I suddenly felt very self-conscience. What if one of them asked me the same questions that Ron had and I couldn't duplicate my answer? What if one of them knew who I was? They all knew exactly who they were and where they had come from. Was the charade that I was putting up transparent to them?

* * *

_Finally a new one. Sorry for the wait, I've been busy with school things. And now that I'm done for the summer I should be able to get a chapter up every couple of days. R&R please!_


	10. Sorting and Talking Portraits

The rush of cool air against my neck felt glorious. Riding up to the castle seemed far longer than I had expected, but I credit that to the fact that I was squished up against the window of a horseless carriage to be the problem. The carriage had become rather toxic once the boy named Seamus removed his dirty, black shoes. And I became very weary once the girl, Luna, had told me about Nargles and mistletoe. And what topped it all off was being constantly poked in the side by a strange potted plant the boy Neville was holding. I walked behind their small group lead by Ron and the boy Dean chatting on about the terrible potions teacher when I realized that I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I stopped and gazed around quickly.

"I'll see you guys later," I said quietly, more to myself.

"Good bye Anna," Luna had turned around and was walking away backwards, "remember, stay out from under mistletoe." I waved a little to Luna.

The large groups of students seemed to be separated by the color of their ties and robe trimmings, their houses I assumed. Everyone was loudly gossiping around me, he asked her that, they went there, she beat her to a bloody pulp. I didn't think wizards would be familiar with the term 'cat fight'. It made me think of school back home. I instantly became more comfortable as the chatter became louder around me.

* * *

Trying to avoid Pansy, Draco Malfoy hid near a group of Hufflepuffs, the one place he knew she wouldn't look. He sat down on the side of the fountain behind them and that's when he noticed that girl from the robe shop standing around by herself. He figured, in his own arrogant way, he should at least get a name to go with the face and decided to go over to her and strike up a harmless conversation.

"Hello," Draco walked up next to her and held out his pale hand, "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said suavely. The girl look at him with her aquamarine colored eyes for a moment. Draco felt like they were piercing through him but he stood his ground. And after what felt an eternity even if it had only been a half of a second she recognized him and grimaced.

"Your that boy who..." she stopped, huffed a little to herself, and spun away from Draco. Draco felt his mouth pull into a smirk as she shifted her weight from her right foot to her left.

"Who what?" he said, the smirk widening on his face. She quickly spun around with her hand on her hips.

"Oh you know exactly what," she hissed.

Draco laughed, turned around, and headed back towards Crabbe and Goyle.

"Excuse me!" he heard her yell but Draco had already disappeared with a group of other students.

* * *

Harry Potter was leaning against a wall listening to Hermione go on about her summer and glancing around for Ron. It was than that he saw that girl who had been in the quidditch shop. She was standing by herself off in the distance near the entrance of the court yard..

"There you are Ron!" Hermione said. Harry only realized Ron had joined them with some of the others when Hermione had stopped talking about her trip to the seaside.

"Hey guys" Ron playfully punched Harry in the shoulder.

"Hey Ron," Harry smiled at him and slowly drifted his gaze back to the girl. He was only half listening what to Ron and Seamus were saying.

"...What do you think Harry?" Seamus looked at him.

"...What...oh yeah sure," but after Harry had said that everyone laughed. Harry was absolutely confused by what they were laughing at.

"You do realize you just admitted to liking to lick Malfoy's feet, right?" Hermione cringed. They were laughing at _him_.

"What! Eww that's disgusting!" he whacked Seamus on the shoulder.

"Told you he wasn't listening," Seamus taunted, everyone was soon back in conversation and Harry's eyes began to drift until Ron pulled him aside.

"Are you alright Harry you seem a little out of it?"

"Yeah I'm fine... I just have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Do...do you know who that girl is over there," he pointed at the girl near the entrance.

"Where?" Ron squinted in the general direction Harry was pointing .

"Over there," Harry emphasized the movement of his hand.

"Oh yeah, she's new here something about being home schooled, I met her on the train."

"Oh..." Harry said curiously.

"Hey you remember Gil right?"

"Yeah."

"She's one of his friends, her name's Anna."

"She's a mermaid?" Harry's eyebrows knitted together in confusion

"No, if she were a mermaid why would she be coming to Hogwarts School for witches and wizards?"

"You got a point," Harry mumbled, Ron grinned at him.

"What are you two doing? Come on McGonagall's ushering us in," Hermione pushed them from behind into the crowd of students.

* * *

I noticed that all the students had begun to enter into the castle through the huge set of doors on the other side of the courtyard. A little bit of panic began to blossom inside of me and I ran over to the back of the herd. Just as I walked through the door, the last one in, someone placed their hand my right shoulder.

"Miss Nunes?" I turned to see who had stopped me and there was a tall, older woman standing there.

"Yes," I looked at her. Her black hair was pulled back tightly and there were dark gray hairs beginning to sprout on her head. She wore small rectangular glasses on the brim of her nose and spoke in an authoritative manner.

"I'm Professor McGonagall. How was your ride on the express?"

"It was fine, thanks."

"Good. You'll be going in with the first years but you'll be sorted first."

I nodded my head sternly. The way McGonagall had talked to me made me feel that that was how I was supposed to respond.

"Come along."

McGonagall took off swiftly into the castle with me at her heels. I could see the last of the other students scurrying down the corridor with the professor and I both behind them. The corridor walls were lined with doors and at the end it opened into a hall, we passed a grand marble staircase at the far end was a set of large doors with a bright glow coming from underneath it and an accompaniment of hundreds of voices. We took a sharp right at the large doors to another even larger set of doors. When the professor open those door there were a large group of small and scared looking children standing with a man that was twice the size of even Mr. Mcnault, my six foot, six inch neighbor back at home.

"Alright students follow me, and step lively we wouldn't want you getting lost," McGonagall motioned me behind her and the first years followed closely behind, obviously frightened of getting lost on their first day. We walked quietly past the doors with all of the voices behind them and we were filed into a small chamber off the main entrance. Once we were all inside Professor McGonagall began to address all the first years and myself.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," it was there that McGonagall began to tell us all what to expect, the sorting, the banquet, the houses, everything that Ron had told me about on the train. "I'll be back in a few moments when we're ready for you." And with that she left us all standing alone in the room. There was an instant flourish of murmurs around me.

Most of the first years were scared about how the school would go about sorting them. One little girl with brown hair and a pretty face looked worried as she explained her story of sorting. Apparently her brother had told her that she would have to wrestle a grindylow. Most of the children had become very antsy after this and even more so when a red-haired boy that looked a little like a rabbit said there was a test to get into a house. I was so wrapped up in their tales of sorting that I hadn't seen the little blond boy that had appeared next to me until he poked me in the hip.

"You're not a first year," he sneered matter-of-factly, "what are you doing here?" I looked at all the other students, they had gone completely silent, waiting for my answer. And not to be attacked by anyone else I said the first thing I could think of.

"I'm here to make sure that the ghosts don't eat you."

Another boy piped up, "ghosts don't eat, they're-"

The boy, lucky for me, wasn't able to finish his sentence because in that moment a pearly, translucent man floated through the wall, a ghost. I had caught me by surprise but some of the first years began to scream, the brown-haired girl grabbed onto my robes, and the pot-bellied ghost looked at all of us as another taller ghost floated through the wall as well.

"What's all this Friar?" the tall ghost asked.

"Oh it's the first years Sir Nicholas."

"P-please be on your way gentleman, I-I b-believe you are wanted in the next room," I stammered, and the girl clung tighter to my robes.

"Ah, quite right, thank you," Sir Nicholas said, "Miss..."

"Nunes, Anna Nunes."

"Yes, thank you Miss Nunes. We shall be seeing you." Sir Nicholas and Friar drifted through the opposite wall they had come through. All of the first years just stared at me with gaping mouths. One was about to say something when McGonagall finally came back.

"Line up everyone, Miss Nunes in front" she turned on her heel and started out of the chamber, "follow me." We walked across the hall and up to the large wooden doors where all the commotion was coming from. She turned to the door and waved her hands; suddenly the doors flew open to reveal a huge hall filled with people. There were four long tables each flooded with a sea of students, one table of green, one of yellow, one of blue, and one of red. At the other end of the room was another long table where the teachers were sat.

I scurried after McGonagall down the middle of the hall between the yellow and blue tables. I could here the first years gasp along with me at the sight of the hall, as well as the other students mumble while looking at the new attendees of Hogwarts. We finally reached the end of the great room when a scraggly looking man placed a stool on the steps in the front of the hall and handed McGonagall an old hat. She stood there with a roll of parchment in one hand and the hat in the other; but before unrolling the parchment she had an announcement.

"This year we have a transfer student," almost like she read my mind she regurgitated the lie I had told Ron on the train. "She comes to us after being home schooled in magic by her mother and father. She will be in her seventh year. Nunes, Anna," she called and I looked back at the crowd of first years. They were all clearly glad that I was the one to go first. I snapped back round and approached the stool. McGonagall motioned me to sit down and once I had she placed the hat one my head and it slipped just under my eyebrows.

"Miss Nunes...hardly," a rough voice echoed through my head and I jumped a little in my seat. "No need to be frightened dear," it chuckled at me.

_How do you know I'm not a Nunes?_ I echoed back to the hat.

"My job is to place the students in the most fitting house, so I dip my brain into there knowledge Miss Dempsey," the hat hissed at me.

_Okay then do your job properly_, I hissed back, and listened to the hat fight with itself over where to put me.

"Ahh demanding, cunning? I see you would do perfectly in Slytherin but wait what's this... Your heart my dear, one of the bravest I've ever seen. Gryffindor would do just as nicely. Although you are very intelligent. You have your wits about you with magic and would do well in a tight situation maybe Ravenclaw... Then again you are an excellent companion, loyal, so Hufflepuff would suit you as well. Hmm...I've never quite met anyone like you before, someone who could be suited for any house equally. I am puzzled, curious of course, but puzzled all the same...oh dear.

I felt the hat spin 180 degrees on my head and began to talk to Dumbledore who was sitting directly behind me. I could feel his baffled eyes on the back of my neck and I could see the confused eyes of all the other students.

"I do not know where to place her sir," what seemed like a whisper, gathered a large gasp from the students and most of the teachers. I looked around at the tables of gawking students, this has probably happened before, I mean come on I'm sure not everyone is easy to read, even if the hat dips its brain into your knowledge? Right...right? Everyone was still staring so I figured that I had to be wrong.

* * *

"Did you hear that Harry?" Hermione questioned Harry Potter while he watched everyone turn to Anna sitting on the stool at the front of the room.

"No, what did the sorting hat say?"

"It said it couldn't place that girl," Hermione whispered to him.

"Maybe she's not a witch?" Ron suggested, looking fairly disappointed. Harry shrugged and remembered that Ron had met her on the train. If he didn't seem to think she was a witch maybe she was something else? There was something about her that made him uneasy standing in the courtyard. Harry saw the perplexed look on Dumbledore's face. And if he wasn't sure what to do with her... The teachers held a small conference at the head table, then Dumbledore mumbled to the hat and stood up.

"Our trust worthy sorting hat has informed me that Miss Nunes is far too equally qualified for each and every house. Therefore she will stay in the prefect dormitories seeing as this will be her first and last year at Hogwarts. She will not have the power nor the responsibilities of a prefect in any case." Dumbledore directed his attention towards Snape. "Our own professor Snape has informed me that he has only elected one Slytherin prefect this year, Miss Nunes will stay in the spare Slytherin prefect room.

"But she will not be in a designated house and will be able to tryout for any house team she wishes and will not receive or be deducted any house points. I would like you to welcome her to our school with open arms. Now Professor Snape who have you selected to be the Slytherin Prefect?"

"Draco Malfoy," Snape peered down the long table of green. Harry saw Anna flinch when Snape had said Malfoy's name.

"Mr. Malfoy would you please stand for us," everyone turned their head to a smirking, and now standing, Draco Malfoy.

* * *

My entire body went ridged at the name that escaped the professor's lips; I turned down the Slytherin table and saw the head of blinding blond hair greet me. Our eyes locked and a shiver ran up my back; his mouth curled into even more of a smirk. I looked back at Dumbledore; he stood there with what might have been a fake smile on his face.

"Would you care to join Mr. Malfoy at the Slytherin table?" I could tell that if I had said 'No I would much prefer Chinese water torture' Dumbledore would have let me make that choice.

"Thank you," was the only thing I could say, it was like all of my will power had been drained out of me, it was like I was a robot. I quickly turned on my heel and headed towards Malfoy. When I neared the end of the table I heard him say something.

"Zabini, Parkinson move down!" he hissed and a dark haired boy and girl shuffled down the bench. He patted the seat next to him. "Here's a free seat," his glare told me to sit, but in the back of my head something told me to ask the two, assumedly Zabini and Parkinson, if they wanted their seats back.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to sit down?" he spat at me. I couldn't think of a clever retort so I quickly took the seat. Just as I sat down everyone at the Slytherin table broke into applause and stood up. I looked around and saw one of the first years, the boy that had poked me, sit down at the other end of the table, but just as I got a glimpse of the next person who was called I was yanked back down roughly. I turned and glared at Malfoy who had pulled me.

"So you do have a real name?" Malfoy smirked remembering my lack of response from earlier in the evening.

"Yes as a matter of fact I do, now why don't you turn around and place your interest elsewhere" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ahh someone thinks they're a big to do," he sneered at me, I was about to hiss back at him but something else did. There was a deep rumble from under the table.

"Sorry," muttered one of the rather large oafish boys across from me.

"Oi, Crabbe can't your stomach wait another five minutes," said the other oafish boy hitting him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about that lot. They're all a bunch of idiots," Malfoy whispered in my ear his nose brushed the side of my cheek, I felt my flesh crawl but I stayed focused on Crabbe punching the big second boy back.

"Friends of yours?" I muttered to Malfoy still watching the boys duke it out.

"Yeah that's Crabbe and Goyle," he pointed to the two troll-ish boys across from me. Malfoy then leaned past me and and the dark haired girl and pointed to the boy he hissed at to move, "And Zabini."

"What about me Drakie?" the girl purred and reached over me trying to touch Malfoy. I saw him flinch and pull back. I smirked at this.

"And that's just Parkinson," he said, the girl grinned at him.

"Pansy actually," but before Pansy could say anything else Dumbledore began to speak.

"I want to thank you all for joining us this year at Hogwarts and now let our feast begin," Dumbledore waved his hands and in front of everyone appeared food. My eyes widened at the sight.

"You look like you've never seen anything like this before?" Malfoy whispered through his teeth I glanced at him and rolled my eyes and began to eat.

In the middle of our meal I began to glance around and my eyes drifted to Pansy shoveling spoon full after spoon full of food into her mouth.

"Enjoying yourself Pansy?" I said holding back laughter and watching the scoops fly down her throat, she turned completely around and looked at me, she did something with her eyes that made her look like she was possessed.

"I'd enjoy myself more if I were sitting next to my Drakie," she hissed at me. I turned to Malfoy and saw him cringing.

"Oh I'm sorry Pansy I didn't know that you wanted to sit next to your _Drakie_," I was facing Malfoy the whole time I spoke, "You can sit next to him if you like I don't mind switching seats," he slowly turned his head to me, the expression on his face suggested that I had just given him the death sentence.

"Oh thank you Anna," I gave a sarcastic smile to Malfoy and got up from my seat. Pansy quickly slid over and her elbow flew right into Malfoy's side.

"Ahh...Pansy watch where your putting those baked hams," everyone snorted at Malfoy's joke.

"Aww you don't mean that Drakie," I said pouting my lips, Malfoy glared at me, I smiled sweetly and went back to eating.

I walked behind Malfoy and his cronies through the entrance hall and down some stairs. Behind me was a gaggle of first year Slytherins. Zabini and Goyle where going on about quidditch, which I would normally join in on, but they were discussing some rather gruesome tacts that had made me linger behind the group. Crabbe fished through his pockets for left over crumbs, his face lit up a little when he found a smear of frosting on his robe. However the most amusing site had to be Pansy, with her hands iron locked around one of Malfoy's arms. She kept whispering in his ear and his face progressively became more horrified by the moment. Her tactics must have been more horrifying than the ones Goyle had learned over the summer.

I smiled a little to myself and exhaled sharply thorugh my nose. My breath had become a little misty. I hadn't realized that the corridors had become darker and colder as I followed along behind Malfoy. I looked back at the new students that were shuffling along quickly behind me. Some of them had looked petrified when Malfoy had begun to yell at them. 'Slytherin first years follow me,' he had said, 'I don't want any of you to get lost and eaten by the giant squid!'

Malfoy had laughed at the first year's expense until Pansy had gotten hold of him and told him how sweet he was to be escorting her to the Slytherin common room. And when she giggled it sounded like she was trying to start a lawnmower that had already been smashed and set aflame.

I felt a sudden tug on my robe and looked to see the blond boy walking next to me.

"Do you really think that there is a giant squid?" he asked.

"I don't know, maybe not."

"Well my brother is a third year and he told me there was a giant squid, in the Black Lake."

"Has your brother ever seen the squid?" I asked. The boy's eyes widened a little.

"No."

"Then you shouldn't believe everything your brother says. What's your name anyway?"

"Colin Pritchard."

"Well Colin," I paused for a moment, deciding if I should be asking him the question, "Where are we going exactly?"

"And here we are!" Malfoy had sounded relieved at the sight of a bare patch of wall. Zabini mumbled what I expected to be a password and a door appeared right before my eyes.

"Alright first years, in you go," Malfoy shouted. The first years filed in behind Zabini, Gyole and Crabbe. I saw Colin trip in the doorway but he quickly regained his posture and sauntered into the common room. The room looked to be lit with greenish lamps because of the green glow on the low ceiling. Lucky for me I turned just in time to see Pansy plant a wet one on Malfoy's face, and I was sure there was going to be sick everywhere.

"Bye Pansy," he muttered. She waggled her fingers at him and skipped into the common room. I watched Malfoy quickly try to scrap off Pansy's slime as he started ahead of me down the hallway.

"If you want to get rid of that you might have to boil your face," he stopped and let me catch up to him.

"You know of any one that would want to boil her? And then maybe eat her?" he looked back at the door as it faded into the wall.

"I don't even think a troll would be able to stomach that," I said matter-of-factly, Malfoy choked in mid breath as if he had come to realize something.

"Come on," he said monotone.

"What?"

"Just...nothing," he turned and walked off like he was in some kind of great hurry. I chased after him for four or five minutes through the corridors until I had had enough.

"Would you wait up!" he stopped short and I rammed into him by accident. "What the bloody hell was that all about?"

"Would you just shut it!" he shouted, I looked up and glared at him.

"There is no need for the yelling Malfoy!" I shouted back, he stood there and looked at me blankly like no one had ever told him off before. "Whats your problem any way?" he didn't say anything he just turned around and stormed off and turned half way down the hall.

"You can find the dormitories on your own!" he shouted down the corridor and began to run around the corner. I was left alone in the middle of nowhere. Walking to the end of the corridor, I peeked down the connecting one, but Malfoy was gone. I looked around hopelessly. Something moved slightly in the corner of my eye and I turned to see a large portrait.

"Dobraxus Livytoad...what kind of name is that?" I spoke aloud.

"A very fine one if you ask me," the portrait snapped back at me. Letting out a small scream, I ran as fast as I could down an unknown hall, shaking from what I had seen.

"Paintings don't talk right?...RIGHT?" I shouted at a new painting that I had come across, there was a slight looking woman with a large dog sitting next to her. The label on the painting read 'Matilda and Tobey'.

"Well of course we do dear," I jumped backward and the dog barked.

"I'm just seeing things. I'm just seeing things," I said as I scurried away.

"Suit yourself," I heard a voice call after me.

"And hearing things!" I hurried even faster, snaking through corridor after corridor and climbing stair after stair, one of which my foot fell through. Everything seemed like it just kept moving around. I finally stopped and looked around, now I really had no idea where I was.

"Well this is a right fine mess I've gotten myself into," I mumbled and sat down in the hall. I tried to blink back tears. It was stupid of me to cry, just because I was lost. I rubbed my eyes and stood up. I would find the prefect common room even if it killed me. Well maybe not killed me.

After standing around only moving a few steps I heard voices coming down the last hall I had turned from, so I peeked my head around the corner and saw the source. Ron and a girl and boy where strolling down the hall.

"RON! Oh thank god I found you," I shouted and ran over to him.

"Nice to see you again to Anna," Ron looked at me strangely, "What are you doing anyway?"

"Well I was following Malfoy back to the prefect dormitories and he just kind of ran off, and now I'm completely and hopelessly lost," as I said this a little fire to seek revenge on Malfoy was stoaked.

"Sounds exactly like Malfoy," the girl sneered.

"Yeah," replied the boy.

"Hey Anna, Harry and Hermione could probably show you back, they're the Gryffindor prefects!" Ron smiled at me.

"Ahh...so these are your imaginary friends, I'm Anna," I held out my hand and Harry just looked at it until Hermione took it.

"Hermione Granger, nice to meet you," she spoke cheerfully and Harry just grunted, "Don't mind Harry, I think he ate too much," Hermione whispered to me.

"Well I'll see you guys later them," Ron turned and walked up a small and rickety looking flight of stairs and around the corner. As we walked on Hermione started to ask me about the classes I thought I would be taking and as I listed all of them off I could see her eyes light up. I then preceded to ask her if the portraits were supposed to move. She had laughed and told me what a strange witch I was.

Once we reached the prefect dormitories and had made it into the common room I stood in front of the portrait that led to the Slytherin prefect rooms rather confused.

"Good luck trying to get in there, I'm sure Malfoy probably changed the password to something impossible," Hermione looked sympathetically at me.

"Don't worry about me, I'm sure I'll manage." Hermione smiled at me and headed to the other side of the common room and into the Gryffindor dormitories right after Harry. I waited until the portrait was closed behind her before I tried to get in. I had been embarrassed enough already with the moving portraits.

"Excuse me," I tapped the frame of the portrait, the woman in the picture looked away from the needle work she was doing, half of a yellow frog on a green lily pad.

"May I help you dear?"

"Yes actually, how do I get in?"

"Well you simply state the password," she said like it was obvious, the way that Hermione had talked about a password only moments ago.

"Oh..." I thought for a moment, "well has anyone changed it in the past hour, maybe someone with hair the color of, oh what would you say? Laser lemons? Did he demand the change perhaps? Slam you shut after he was through with you?"

"No not that I recall," the portrait said hastily and when back to her yellow frog. I could tell the woman was lying, her eyes were unsure. I sighed and pulled a piece of paper from my pocket. Melinda had given it to me before I left. She had told me to use it only when I needed it. And well getting into my bedroom seemed rather important. The portrait looked down at the piece of paper, there was only one small phrase written on it, and it looked like a completely different language. The woman's eyes widened and the portrait swung open.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"No my grace thank you," the portrait closed behind me. I looked down at the small piece of paper in my hand and thought for a moment. It that was the result I had better keep it safe. I reached down into my shirt and grabbed at the warm metal of my amulet. Unlocking and opening it Flick peeked her head up at me and smiled.

"Flick will you hold on to this for me?" I handed her the paper that I had folded into a little square and she snuggled it in her arms. After securing Flick back in the amulet and the amulet under my robes I walked down the small hallway. At the far end I saw the bathroom door open ajar.

I stopped at the first closed door and leaned my ear against it until something was abruptly thrown against it. And I heard cursing on the other side. So I kept walking to the next room and peeped my head in and saw my trunk, broom, and Septimus all waiting inside. When I opened the door of the cage Septimus swooped out and perched on the back of the desk chair. I started to walk over to my bed but half way there I whacked my toe against something and losing my balance I tipped over and came crashing to the floor. Malfoy's door clicked open and he walked down the hall.

"What are you doing Nunes?" he looked at me disgusted as I nursed my foot.

"Oh I don't know I just though I'd examine the wood grain of the floors," I snapped at him still holding my toe.

"Right," he threw a irritated look at me and walked out. There, sitting on the floor, I scowled as if Malfoy were still in the room.


	11. Classes and Friends

The stone of the windowsill felt cool against my thighs as I sat looking out into the September sky. Everything had become gray with storm clouds that made my skin prickle and the corners of my mouth droop. It was strange how all of my excitement could be hindered by something as simple as the weather. Although it could also have something to do with the only few hours of sleep I had had.

Perhaps I still had a couple more hours left. But the little hammer of my alarm clock smacked against it's bells signaling that I hadn't any extra time to sleep. I stood slowly listening to the clanging of the alarm. I was finding it hard to find the motivation to get ready. When I was out of my room, after switching off my alarm and scooping up the towel and clothes I had laid out the night before, I heard another door open.

Just as my hand as grasped around the bathroom doorknob I heard sprinting foot steps coming up behind me. I had no idea what was happening until I was suddenly shoved aside and Malfoy lunged in between me and the door and was ready to wrench it closed. Luckily I have quick reflexes, but I credit my parents for buying me a pair of ridiculous orthopedic slippers. Just as Malfoy was about to shut the door I stuck my foot in its path.

"What the...Nunes, move your foot," he said while leaning on the door trying to get it shut.

"No! I was here first you get out!" I yelled at him.

"Well if you were here first then why am I in the bathroom?"

"Because you so kindly decided to throw me against the wall!" I shouted sarcastically.

"Just move, will you!" he shouted back. I felt the rage build up inside me and I rammed the door with my shoulder knocking Malfoy to the floor. I hoisted him up, and while he was still dazed I pushed him out the door and into the wall, making sure to lock the door behind him.

"Malfoy, I would like to introduce to you Signor Wall," I yelled through the door. I heard him mumble something from the other side and stomp down the hall.

The steam from my shower poured out from behind the door when I sauntered out of the bathroom smiling, feeling refreshed, but that wasn't the only reason. Malfoy pushed past me with a snarl on his face, and I grinned at him happily.

"Have a nice bath, Malfoy," I saw him stop, I think he fell for the fake sincerity in my voice. He turned around and looked at me.

"Thanks," he said quietly and turned back to the bathroom. Unfortunately, I didn't see the rather large and devilish smirk on his face. I quickly walked back into to my room and closed the door behind me.

_3..._

_2..._

_1..._

"AHHHHHHH...NUNES!"

That's what he got for nearly killing me. Letting me be attacked by portraits, locking me out of the rooms, and the multiple more misdeeds that I was sure would happen during my time here at Hogwarts. Malfoy might as well have started a war, he would not win.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I use up all the hot water?" I shouted and smiled at Septimus as I walked into my bedroom. I finished getting ready and quickly piled my books into my bag, grabbed my skateboard from my trunk and ran out into the common room.

"What was all that about?" I saw Hermione sitting on one the couches obviously waiting impatiently for Harry to get finished.

"Oh...I...uh guess Malfoy forgot to let me know that there isn't a surplus of hot water," I gave her an innocent smile.

"Anna!," her eyes grew wide. "You better be careful he will get you back for that," she said. I could tell she was preparing how she would deliver the line 'I told you so' by the way she rose her eyebrow.

"I'm sure I can handle him," I grinned and Hermione shook her head.

"Well, would you care to join my fellow Gryffindors, and myself, for breakfast? I'm sure it will be better than listening to Crabbe and Goyle release bodily gases this morning," I looked at her disgusted. "I sat behind them for morning potions classes my fourth year, probably one of the most traumatic experiences in my lifetime!"

"I can imagine," I said thinking back to Crabbe's violent stomach noises at dinner on Saturday. I was lost in my own thoughts and didn't notice Harry stumble into the common room.

"Ready 'Mione?" he said while looking at me cautiously and then at my skateboard.

"Yeah, you ready Anna?"

"As I'll ever be," I grinned at Hermione as she pulled me through the portrait hole and Harry walked sulkily behind us.

* * *

As we walked down the corridor I heard someone running behind us.

"NUNES!" I heard Malfoy yell, Hermione looked at me.

"Don't worry I'll meet you guys down in the great hall, okay?"

"Alright," Hermione said reluctantly. "Don't get lost!" she said, worried, as Harry continued walking while dragging her. I stood and waited for Malfoy to reach where I was standing.

"What is it Malfoy?" I hissed at him.

"Well, no need to get defensive. I just wanted to walk you down to breakfast," he smirked at me.

"WHAT!...Is this some kind of cruel joke or something?" I studied Malfoy's face trying to see any signs of a surprise attack.

"No, I just want you to sit with me," he said still smirking.

"Well I'm sorry to inform you that I've already been invited to breakfast," I stated.

"Oh that's too bad, but you're sitting with me," he said roughly.

"No!" I shouted. And before he could say anything else, I dropped my board and scooted off at top speeds down the corridor.

After a breakfast of listening to Hermione explain to me where my classes were while she pointed violently at my schedule and reminisced about her time in those classrooms and talking to Ron about quidditch, a conversation that Harry actually added to, I was off to find my first class. Divination. Hermione had said that divination was just a bunch of rubbish, nothing was based on facts. And Ron had warned me that the classroom was in a ridiculously high tower but I was ready for anything at this point.

Melinda had never really taught me anything about divination, she always said that she never had had the need to use it. 'why look into the future to solve your problems? You can get everything you need from your past' was what she said to me on several occasions.

When I finally reaching the top of the tower and got into the divination classroom I looked around at the room of students. There were blue and yellow ties everywhere, I noted as I looked for an empty seat. All the students seemed to be here but there was no teacher. I scanned the room one last time in hope to find a seat, until I spotted one girl with a blue tie, a Ravenclaw from what I remembered at the feats, sitting by herself in the far corner of the room. I hurried over hoping no one else would come in and take the sear.

"Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" I asked the Ravenclaw girl. She had brown-red hair and chocolate brown eyes. She looked up from the book that she had been reading.

"Oh, you're talking to me?" she said quietly.

"Yeah, is anyone sitting here?" I said again.

"Um no, not that anyone would want to any way."

"Well I want to, if you don't mind," I sat at the small round table next to her.

"No, go ahead. What I say has never stopped anyone before," she mumbled the last bit.

"I'm Anna Nunes, whats your name?" I looked at her and she looked like she had never heard a sincere hello before.

"I'm Naomi, Naomi Myer," she said quietly.

"Well nice to meet you Naomi Myer," I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Nice to meet you too Anna," she looked at me and her eyes drifted to my skateboard. "Nice board," she commented.

"You skate?" I asked.

"No, my brother does," she smiled opening up a little to me.

"But you're a witch so how do you know about skateboards?"

"Oh, well my parents are both muggles, I'm a muggle born," she said.

"So your brother's not a wizard I take it," she shook her head slightly.

"It's fun though, the fact that he doesn't have magic and I do. One word: revenge," she winked at me.

"Welcome class!" startled, I looked to the front of the room and saw a woman who resembled a bejeweled Melinda. But she looked much older with thick rimmed glasses that magnified her eyes four times their actual size and wrinkly hands covered in rings. The only one Melinda wore was her Lapis Lazuli ring on her right ring finger. She continued on ranting about tea leaves and crystal balls. I then realized why Hermione didn't like this class.

"Finally, I thought she would never shut up," I sighed as we walked out of Divination alive, though I think half my brain had gone into a coma from the insanity. "That woman's crazed!" I screwed up my eyes and let my hands flail around bellowing 'are you in the beyond'.

Naomi giggled at my impression, but began nudging me once I had started attracting attention. "Well she might be mad but there are worse teachers. Speaking of which, " her eyes widened, "what class do you have next?" I handed her my schedule from my bag. "History of Magic! Me too," she smiled.

"Great," I smiled too. I was happy that I wasn't going to get lost and that I had made a new friend.

When we both got to the class I slid into the bench next to Seamus and Neville and Naomi slide in after me. When the professor floated thought he wall I was slightly surprised with my second encounter with the Hogwarts ghosts. And once Professor Binns introduced himself and began the lesson I realized this encounter wasn't going to be as exciting as the first.

We were excused to lunch after an atrociously boring class.

"Are classes always this skull numbingly boring?"

"What do you have after lunch?" Naomi asked me. I pulled my schedule from my robe pocket and read, my vioce turned suddenly whiny, "Muggle Studies."

"Oh rough," she said, "at least it will be easy."

"I guess," I moaned. I left the Great Hall after lunch with Naomi and was off to find the Muggle studies classroom. I was closer than I had anticipated on my skateboard and I accidentally plowed right into another student.

"Oww why don't you watch were your going," the figure said sharply. I looked across the floor to see Ron with a hand full of flyers.

"Oh sorry Ron didn't see you."

"Oh no problem," he said as he hoisted himself up and then me, "hey Anna you like quidditch!"

"Yeah, why?"

"Here," he handed me one of the pieces of parchment.

"What is it?" I questioned.

"Dumbledore's idea, he thinks that if we hold a quidditch rally it will give the house team captains a chance to see all the people who want to play before they tryout. Kind of a common courtesy thing. so you think you can come to it this Saturday?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," I smiled looking down at the flyer.

* * *

"Great, you have Muggle studies now don't you?"

"Yeah, you're a victim too?" I said.

"One of the many, Dad insisted I take the class, come on you can sit with us," I followed Ron out of the corridor.

I sat outside near Hagrid's hut waiting for the care for magical creatures class to start. After a morning in Divination and History of Magic feeling as if my brain was going to ooze out of my pours from boredom and an interesting muggle studies where Seamus asked an array of ridiculous questions, being outside was nice. I knew I was actually going to like care for magical creatures, and the fact that I had it twice during the week was relaxing.

"The rest of yeh classmates should be 'ere soon," Hagrid called from a window in his hut.

"Okay," I called back, and continued looking around aimlessly.

"Excuse me," I looked up and saw the boy about my age; he had golden brown hair that fell in his face and light hazel eyes that seemed to glow.

"Can I help you?" I asked arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, is this the first year creatures class?" I nodded my head as he spoke. "Really are you sure because you don't look like a first year."

"I'm not a first year, it's a long story, I'm Anna Nunes," I held out my hand and he shook it.

"Yeah you're that girl that the hat couldn't place right? Names Simon Gaverey, Hagrid asked if I could help teach his class kinda like a teachers assistant."

"Sounds...honorable," I giggled at him.

"I guess that's what you get for being in Hufflepuff, honor from the teacher." he smiled at me.

"That you Simon?" Hagrid called from his house and trudged out. "Oh good 'ere come the other students now 'ope yer all ready ter meet Donna," Hagrid said excitedly. Simon and I both looked at each other.

"Do I want to know?" I asked quietly to Simon and Hagrid hurried from his hut with a large cage covered in a cloth.

"Lets just say Donna and I have met before, and I still don't feel clean," I looked at Hagrid in horror as he lifted a corner of the colorful cotton cloth and a large green ball of slime was fired right into his beetle black eyes.

* * *

_Oh look who decided to join us? I know it's been **FOREVER** but I started something else over the summer and now I'm back at school. But anyway here's chapter 11 **FINALLY** hope you all enjoy it. I'm on my way the next one will probably be out soon, I'm going to write during the spare minutes that I have during the day. :)_


	12. Keys and Reoccurring Dreams

I stumbled down the corridor still dizzy from the stench of Donna's slime. The dipping and dodging out of its firing path had left my knees weak. And finally, what I had been anticipating since I trampled up the lawn to the Great Hall, I tripped over my own feet. I prepared myself for the cold stone floor crashing against my face. But someone quickly caught me instead.

"What's wrong with you Nunes?" I turned to see the one and only Draco Malfoy holding me steady. I quickly pushed him away, regaining my composure.

"Well if you really must know I spent all of last class running away from these rancid slime balls. Now I'm sick to my stomach and my legs can't seem to hold me up straight." I stated loudly at him.

"Sounds awfully eventful," he smirked.

"You could say that Malfoy," I began to walk away but he grabbed my arm. "What?" I shouted.

"Where you going?"

"I dropped all my stuff off in my room and now I'm going to dinner," I said.

"Oh..." he trailed off into his own thoughts.

"What's the matter Malfoy, nargles got your brain?" he quickly snapped out of his daze.

"Shove off Nunes-"

"Gladly," I quickly cut him off and took off into the hall.

"There you are Anna," Naomi shouted. I had asked her to meet me in the entrance hall before dinner. "Thought you'd never make it," she said as we approached the Ravenclaw table.

* * *

"Yeah," I looked over at the Great Hall door and watched Malfoy walked in with the same dazed look on his face.

"I could have sworn I put it in here somewhere," I muttered to myself as I dug through my bag looking for my History of Magic book. I got up to ask Malfoy if he had been rummaging through my things. I knew that I shouldn't always assume Malfoy had done it, I had only been here for two days if that. But for some reason it felt like had always been here and Malfoy had always done these things.

"Malfoy you better not have be-" I was cut off when I whacked my toe against something on my bedroom floor and fell over once more.

"Graceful Nunes," I looked up at Malfoy as he smirked down at me.

"Do you mind?" I held my hand out.

"Yes I do," he sneered and began to walk out, "Oh and I believe this belongs to you," Malfoy dropped my book in front of me.

"You little-"

"Uh uh uh, there's no need for name calling now is there," he snickered and left the room.

If it hadn't been for my curiosity I would have followed him out the door ready to hex the limbs off his body. Instead I looked around for what I might of possibly tripped over. I ran my hands over the floorboards but felt nothing until I crawled near my bed.

My hand was lying on top of an invisible handle. _What the..._I gave a small tug on the handle and there appeared to be a door, pulling harder this time I was able to pry it open. Looking down into the dark dusty cavern I heard quiet, muffled chattering from deep inside the darkness. Double-checking that I had my wand, I slipped into the hole and closed the trap door quietly behind me.

"Lumos," I whispered and the end of my wand lit up, illuminating the small tunnel. Following the tunnel I came into a small room and in the center was a door. It was just propped up there, no walls attached to it, nothing on either side, just a door. As I got closer I could see that it was carved carefully and painted. In the middle was a large knocker in the shape of a lion's head holding a brass ring in it's mought. I walked around the back of the door and then to the front again. Making my decision I lifted my hand to the door and let the knocker clank loudly against it.

* * *

While Draco Malfoy was sitting in his room he heard a loud clank coming from down the hall, he figured Nunes had fallen over again. So hoping to humiliate her some more he set off for her room but once he got there she was nowhere to be seen.

"Very funny Nunes you can come out now," He stated but there was the clanking noise again. Draco jumped at the sound and decided that what ever Nunes was doing she was fine without him.

When nothing happened I clanked the knocker once more but this time louder. When I had done so the whole room lit up. The torches one by one burst into flame around the circular room. The handle of the door giggled a little and looking down at it I saw a key sitting in the lock. It was locked from outside. I turned the key slowly because I still hadn't made up my mind if this was a good idea or not but it was too late to go back once I heard the tumblers click. I slid the key gently into the pocket on my robe

* * *

The handle giggled once more and then smoothly turned revealing two people standing there, their red eyes penetrating my skin.

"I don't feel anything with this one," the girl whispered to the boy licking her pointed teeth.

"Neither do I, you may come in if you like," the boy said.

Their appearance sent a chill through my spine and and scream erupted from my lips. I slammed the door shut, shoved the key roughly back into the lock and turned it letting the tumblers activate.

I removed the key, shaking, but still standing there staring at the door. I really had no time to begin to wonder about the strangers with red eyes because I ran from the room with the key still grasped in my hand. I ran back up the tunnel, through the trap door, letting it slam behind me, and collapsed onto the floor.

"Nunes what in Merlin's name are you doing?" Malfoy yelled from down the hall.

"Just practicing..." I looked around my room and spotted the Quidditch flier on my desk, "...yeah just practicing for the quidditch rally this weekend."

"You play quidditch?" Malfoy asked sticking his head into the room.

"I happen to, not that it's any of your business or anything," I snapped.

"Well I just happen to be the Slytherin captain, maybe I'll check you out at the rally," he eyed me.

"You've already got that part I think," my voice wavered, still weak from the screaming, I saw his face turn into a smirk and he left. I really didn't want to know what he was thinking I assured myself, not in the least...

I peered down at the key still clutched in my hand and I was suddenly very alert. I knew I was not going to sleep well to night, knowing what was under my floor boards.

I fished out my locket from under my pillow. Flick was nested quietly inside, and I carefully slid the key onto the chain so I wouldn't wake her. I quickly changed into my pajamas and slipped into bed hoping that I would drift away. I did, however spend most of the night pacing up and down the hallway.

* * *

Draco Malfoy lay in his bed wondering why Nunes considered screaming practicing for the quidditch rally. And what she had said to him the first night when she talked about boiling my face stuck in his mind. Only one other person had ever suggested that to him. But it was stupid of him to even think about it. He had gone back there not long before school and hadn't found her.

Draco soon fell asleep and slipped into a dream...

* * *

_"Hey Coville come here and look at this!" a young Maggie Dempsey called to Jayden Coville. _

_"What?" he called from the large patio. _

_"Come here!" _

_"Fine I'm coming," he ran down to the small fishpond where Maggie sat, "What?" _

_"Look at the frogs!" Jayden looked at Maggie disgusted, until a frog jumped from Maggie's hands and onto his face. _

_"AHHHHHH, get it off! Get it off Dempsey!" she quickly snatched the frog from Jayden's face, "Why did you let it do that?" _

_"I didn't do it on purpose," Maggie stared at Jayden as he scrapped the frog's slime from his face. "If you want to get rid of that you might have to boil your face."_

* * *

"AHHHHH," Draco sat up quickly sweat dripping down his back. That was the fourth time he had had that dream in the past three days and he was getting tired of it.

"What was all that about?" He turned to see Nunes leaning against the door frame of his room smirking at him_...wait she's smirking, that's my thing. I Smirk!_ He thought viciously.

"I'm sure you'd like to know!" he said smugly, she rolled her eyes and turned around her bathrobe billowing behind her. Draco glared at her but it was too late she had left.

_...Bitch..._

_

* * *

Alright here's the next one, I didn't change very much here. And for_ _**DracoMalfoy4Ever** I hope you enjoyed this quick update. I want to try to get out one rewritten chapters at least every two days._


	13. All Natural

I had decided to let Malfoy get to the shower first and spare him from a second date with signor wall...

As I was laying in my bed I realized that I really didn't see Malfoy that much he was only in three out of many of my classes and I never sat at the Slytherin table during meals. Apart from the occasional poke in the back in Charms or snide remarks in the hall or in the dormitories he was no where near me.

* * *

The week had gone fairly smoothly and it was finally Friday. I heard the door of the bathroom open and wet feet pad down the hall. When I jumped into the shower I noticed my shampoo wasn't where I had left resting on a shelf, it had been moved. It was on the other side of the shower and when I picked it up there was a strange spurting should. I spun the cap off and saw a familiar green goop, a goo that was the mirror image to what Donna had secreted. But there was only one way to find out. I took a small whiff.

"Oh my god," my hand flew to my face to try to stop the smell; I quickly screwed the cap back on the bottle. Just then I heard snickering on the other side of the bathroom door. _Oh he thinks hes clever does he?_ I thought to myself.

I grabbed Malfoy's shampoo and after washing my own hair I dumped the rest of it down the drain and replaced it with the slime. After finishing I dried off and quickly got dressed and walked out of the bathroom braiding my hair. Malfoy had already left for breakfast the slime planting weasel. Grabbing my book bag I ran down through the empty common room and down to the great hall.

I strolled into the great hall and looked around for Naomi or Ron and Hermione. Unfortunately someone else found me first.

"Nunes did you have a nice bath?" Malfoy stood in front of me with his cronies.

"Yes I did actually, how kind of you to ask," I saw him sniff around me bracing himself for the hideous stench, he looked bewildered when he found no such smell.

"Is there a reason your trying to sniff Anna, Malfoy?" Naomi came by my side.

"Watch it Myer," he hissed at her, I stood there and watched him looking very defeated, suddenly I felt darkness wash over me and there was a loud bone chillingly familiar scream, I heard "Anna" and "Nunes' whispered between the people around me and I felt the air around me fly past and then I blacked out.

* * *

"Watch it Myer," Draco Malfoy hissed at her, he was ashamed of himself. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to think that Nunes would fall for such a dim-witted trick. When he looked to her she looked sick and her eyes had rolled around in her head. "Nunes?"

"Anna?" Myer said holding Nunes up right. Draco heard a few "Nunes" and "is she okay" whispered around him as more people gathered. She slipped from Myer's grip and fell into him, luckily he caught her and trying to hold her up someone came over and picked her up bridal style.

"I got her Malfoy don't worry about it," Draco stared at that stupid Hufflepuff, Gaverey, as he ran down to the hospital wing with Nunes in his arms.

* * *

_Maggie sat perched up on her broom watching players, some in uniform and some not, zip around below her in particular patterns. Her eyes began to scan the pitch; she was looking for something, something small and golden. Her head perked up she had spotted it...the golden snitch. She shot off into the game she heard the loud booming voice of a student giving commentary on her every move, if only he would just be quiet just for a moment so she could grab the snitch before the other seeker did. _

_Everything seemed to slow down as she inched closer to the snitch until it shot straight up into the air. She shot up after it, after reaching a high altitude Maggie stopped and surveyed the area once more. She heard a faint cry and as she turned her broom around she came face to face with a high-speed bludger. It barreled into her chest knocking her off her broom. She let out a loud blood-curdling scream and plummeted towards the cold hard earth._

_

* * *

_

I woke up with a start, and looked around at the clean, dark room. I saw a woman in a nightgown hustle over to me.

"My dear are you alright I heard you shout, probably woke up nearly the whole castle if you ask me," she rambled

"Where am I?" were the only words that would dare escape my lips.

"Oh your in the hospital wing dear, you blacked out at breakfast and you've been out of it since, that nice boy Simon Gaverey brought you here," she smiled at me sweetly.

"Oh, how long have I been here?" I questioned.

"Since about 8:30 this morning," she smiled

"And what time is it?" I saw her look down at her watch.

"Almost eleven o'clock."

"Can I, erm, go back to my own bed?"

"Well I would like you to stay here for the night so I can keep an eye on you," she spoke quietly.

"But, but tomorrow is the quidditch rally I will still be able to participate won't I?"

"You should be fine, I just want to keep you here for a while longer, now get some sleep, you'll need it if you want to take part in the rally," she smiled and left once I had settled back down into my bed.

* * *

I hurried down the long corridors early that morning hoping to catch a quick breakfast. I wanted to get down to the pitch early to meet Ron to get in a few practice drills before the rally started.

I bumped up the stairs to the prefect common room and through the first portrait and then the Slytherin dorms portrait swung open with out me saying anything.

I quickly got ready, showering, throwing on a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and a sweater. I pulled my dark hair into a messy ponytail. I grabbed my broom, shoved my gloves into my pocket, snapped my goggles around the top of my head, and then went to grab my foot stand. Which with my luck wasn't where I had left it.

"What the..." then something inside me went off like a mad troll. I angrily stomped down the hall to Malfoy's room. Standing in front of the door I pushed up my sleeves and cracked my neck. I nearly punched the door open when I was met by a wave of stench, "Holy..." I looked at Malfoy sitting on his bed in a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants; I noticed that his hair had a bright green color to it. He slowly lifted his head and glared at me.

"What do you want," he barked at me.

"Well I see someone enjoyed his morning shower," as I said this his mouth moved into a snarl. "I guess you should of double checked before you used your shampoo huh?" Suddenly Malfoy jumped from his bed.

"Your gonna pay for this Nunes!" he shouted and ran after me, I took off into my room and closed the door behind me holding it tightly. There was loud banging and it progressively became slower and slower until I heard Malfoy slide down the wall and slump over. I opened the door a crack to find him leaning against it. I grinned to myself and pulled the door completely open quickly and he fell backwards and hit the floor looking up at me. His eyes narrowed.

"Don't look at me like that you shouldn't of tried to do it to my in the first place?" he just laid there glaring up at me, "I know how to get rid of the smell if that's what you want?" but he just kept glaring. I extracted my wand from my pants pocket, I saw Malfoy sit up and watch me.

"Why would you want to help me anyway?" he said smirking at me for a moment when I turned to him.

"Because I'm sure being the captain of the Slytherin house team you would want people to actually come near you to sign up for tryouts," I rose an eyebrow in his direction.

"Point taken," he said as suavely as someone who reeks could. I muttered the spell Hagrid had taught us to get rid of the smell.

"Oh and by the way you wouldn't have seen my foot stand for my broom? Have you?"

"You mean that piece of junk," Malfoy pointed to the stand sticking out from underneath my bed. I stood there with my hands on my hips.

"Yeah that would be the one," I scooped it up and rested it over my shoulder. Stepping around Malfoy I hurried to the great hall hoping I didn't miss Ron.

Running into the Hall I skidded past Hermione and jumped into the seat next to her. She handed me a couple pieces of toast and I smiled at their buttery goodness.

"Are you okay?" she asked

"Fine, where's Ron?" I panted while shoving the toast in my face.

"He and Harry are already down at the pitch," she smiled at me. I gulped down some pumpkin juice and grabbed a muffin and ran back out of the great hall down to the quidditch pitch.

"Hey Anna over here," I saw Ron wave me over to him; Harry and a few others were sitting in the middle of the pitch.

"Hey guys," I smiled at everyone.

"Where's Gil," Harry piped up, and everyone looked around.

"Whose that," Seamus joined in, out of the corner of my eye I saw Ron elbow Harry.

"Anyway..." Ron started, "lets break up into teams, Anna I hear you're a great seeker," when Ron said that Harry glared at me.

"You're a seeker?" he questioned.

"Yeah that's my position when I play with my friends back home," I said weakly.

"Okay I want Anna to play seeker for our team," Ron smiled at me and teams were picked from there.

I flew around above the other players and glance over at Harry looking around for the snitch. I saw a flit of gold zip past his head and I took off after it. I swerved around the other players tossing the quaffle and dodging bludgers..._bludgers_...I stopped in midair remembering my dream and began to panic as one flew dangerously close for my comfort (even if it was twenty meters away). My heart beat faster and faster and I let out a squeak when another bludger flew below me, I slowly started to lower to the ground.

"What is Nunes doing?" I heard the loud harsh voice of Malfoy echo through the pitch. I swallowed hard and shot up into the sky and after the snitch; I easily caught it because of the lack of trees to dodge. I lowered back down to the ground in triumph.

"What was that Malfoy?" I yelled over to him and let the snitch flash in the sunlight.

"We won!" Ron shouted some where from above, "we won! Woo!" I saw Harry quickly drop down and kick the ground.

"I wanted to know what you were doing? You looked a little nervous up there?" he sneered and pulled a hat tighter around his head.

"Shut up Malfoy she caught that snitch in about ten minutes, I'm sure that's better than you've ever done." Ron yelled at Malfoy.

"Piss off Weaselby...hey Nunes can I talk to you for a second?" Malfoy shouted, I walked towards him and he slung his arm over my shoulder but I quickly shrugged it off.

"When you asked if you could talk to me there was no physical contact in the suggestion," he quickly rolled his eyes.

"I didn't know you could fly like that, there's a good chance that if you tried out for the Slytherin team you could make chaser easily, I could see to that roomie!" he winked at me.

"Sorry Malfoy I can't play chaser, I'm not very good at it, I'm more of a seeker," I hissed at him.

"Well that's to bad because I'm the seeker of the team, see ya around Nunes," Malfoy stalked off down the pitch to meet up with his followers.

"Hey Malfoy come back!" he turned to me and smirked he must have thought he had won this one.

"Yes Nunes?" his hissed loudly. Just as he got his face close enough to mine I grabbed his hat and tossed it away revealing bright green then got very close to his ear and whispered.

"Nice hair..." I watched as his face built up in rage and his gray eyes flashed. But what I think finally set him off was Harry's smug comment.

"Hey Malfoy, is that all-natural?" he yelled and wiped his hand over his nose and ran it through his hair dramatically.

"You'll pay for this Nunes," Malfoy spat at me.

"Oh we'll see about that Malfoy, well see about that," I whispered to no one in particular as he stalked off once more.


	14. Quidditch

"Alright students line up!" Madam Hooch shouted over the loud cheer of the people in the stands by magically modifying her voice, "I want chasers here, keepers here, beaters here and seekers here," she said and pointed to four different spots. I quickly hurried over to the spot for seekers.

The five captains stood, prestigious looking, near Madam Hooch. Harry for Gryffindor, Malfoy for Slytherin, a girl I didn't know for Ravenclaw, and there seemed to be two captains for Hufflepuff, Simon and another girl. I waved quickly at Simon and he smiled back at me. Near Simon I did catch a glare thrown at me by a particular Slytherin.

"Alright you will be broken into..." Madam Hooch quickly counted the amount of people hoping to participate, "Six teams, from there the three winning teams will face off, but remember we're here to have fun," she quickly glanced down at her clipboard and began to call off the names. "Now each house captain has a crate of jerseys, Potter with red, Malfoy with green, Chang with blue, Gaverey with Yellow, Bones with white, and I have black, each team will be given a color after they have designated a captain, is that understood!" cheers erupted from the stands as people ran at each other hoping to get the best people on their teams. I stood there until someone grabbed me by the arm. I looked over my shoulder and saw Seamus Finnigan smiling broadly.

"We called dibs on you for seeker," he said while dragging me along.

"Oh," I said, slightly confused about how that had transpired but I smiled back at him anyway. I stood huddled in a group with my other teammates when I heard someone yell my name.

"Oi! Nunes," Malfoy stormed over to my team with his crate, "I want you to be the captain of this team, and I want you to be green," he quickly looked over the team and shoved the crate into my arms.

"Sorry Malfoy but we've already elected a captain and she's over there getting the yellow jerseys from Simon," I shoved the crate back into his arms a bit harder than I had planned, "But those players over there look like they need some sort of structure," I saw him cringe as he looked who was on the team.

"But there a bunch of girly third years," he wined.

"And I'm sure they'd be glad to take those off your hands," I turned to Victoria Frobisher, the girl we had selected as our captain, as she handed out the jerseys. I heard a huff from Malfoy as he headed towards the group of rather feminine school boys huddled around a bunch of old brooms.

THE BLACK TEAM HAS GOT HOLD OF THE QUAFFLE  
NOTT IS RACING TOWARDS THE YELLOW GOAL POSTS  
HE SHOOTS  
OHHHHH BLOCKED BY FINNIGAN  
TO BAD FOR HIM  
NOTT YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOCK YOUR OWN TEAM OFF THEIR BROOMS!  
AND THERE GOES HARPER  
DOWN, DOWN...DOWN

I sat perched up high above the game watching the all too familiar patterns being played out when I spotted the one thing I had been scanning for, I tore off after the golden snitch.

WHATS THIS!  
IT SEEMS THAT NUNES HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH  
THAT'S RIGHT SMITH THE SNITCH!

I watched as the announcer, a loud mouthed Ravenclaw, Orla Quirke had 'hinted' that I had found the snitch and now Smith would be right on my tail. I slowly gained on the glinting ball. There was an evil laugh coming from behind that caused me to glance to see Smith only inches from me now. But that split second of not watching the snitch made me loose it.

I slowed and swooped around Smith, making sure he didn't crash into me.

NUNES SEEMS TO BE CONTEMPLATING  
HOW IS SHE GOING TO GET THAT SNITCH

"I really wish you'd shut up Quirke," I screamed but no one seemed to hear me over the loud rhythmic cheering. I had lost the snitch_...no wait there it is_, I zipped after the snitch until it shot straight up with me hot on it's tail.

NUNES FOLLOWS CLOSELY AFTER THE SNITCH  
WHERE DID IT GO?

I scanned the horizon for the snitch, I heard a faint cry from below and as I turned my broom around I came face to face with a high-speed bludger. ..._De JA vu_... Before the bludger could knock me clean off my broom, I flipped sidewards and held on, feet dangling, as I felt the swoosh of the bludger fly past my knuckles. I looked down at the ground far below then up at my broom trying to figure how I was going to get myself out of this. I breathed in deeply.

"DOWN!" I yelled and my broom began to plummet towards the pitch.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat back and watched the last game of the rally happening before him, black verses yellow, and he had especially hoped that Nunes would lose after she refused to be the green team.

"You know I stick my neck out for her and planned on giving her the winning color and what do I get? Nothing," he mumbled to himself causing Susan Bones to look at him strangely. He glared at her and she quickly turned her head back round.

Although he could have sworn he heard her say 'what's coming to you'. Draco brushed off his thoughts and continued watching as each team made the occasional goal; until he saw Nunes's head perk up.

WHATS THIS!  
IT SEEMS THAT NUNES HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH  
THAT'S RIGHT SMITH THE SNITCH!

Draco watched as both players zipped after the snitch, Nunes slowly made up some ground until she looked back to Smith who was gaining on her, the snitch made an unnoticed turn.

NUNES SEEMS TO BE CONTEMPLATING  
HOW IS SHE GOING TO GET THAT SNITCH

He saw her make and aggravated motion at Quirke, probably telling her to shut up, which made him snicker. Then she found the snitch once more and shot up into the sky after it but managed to lose it again.

NUNES FOLLOWS CLOSELY AFTER THE SNITCH  
WHERE DID IT GO?

As Draco watched her search he saw a bludger barrel towards her.

"NUNES! WATCH IT!" he screamed. She seemed to hear him, when she turned to find the bludger coming towards her she made an accurate sidewards flip and hung onto her broom as the bludger flew over her knuckles. _Ha lets see her get out of this one_, Draco thought as he leaned back and watched as she tried to figure how to get back up on her broom. But suddenly she began to fall from the sky, his eyes widened and he grabbed his broom kicked off in hopes to catch her.

* * *

As I got closer and closer to the ground I saw Malfoy approaching fast and I realized he thought I was in some kind of danger. _Please!_ He obviously thought this would give him something over me and I wasn't about to let Malfoy become the hero now was I? As he got closer and the ground came faster; I shoved my scarlet phantom below me and swung my leg over and kicked off back into the air. I turned to see Malfoy, jaw agape, as he watched me ride away unscathed. I gave him a small salute and began my search once more for the snitch...

"Alright students, I found this rally to be a success," Dumbledore's voice boomed throughout the stands, "we have seen some great playing today and I'm sure the team house captains have hopes to have you join, but of course there can only be one over all winner, Miss Quirke if you wouldn't mind," Dumbledore signaled to Orla who was holding the official standings from Madame Hooch.

THANK YOU PROFESSOR  
IN SIXTH PLACE...SORRY ACKERLEY... THE WHITE TEAM  
FIFTH PLACE, GREEN!

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Malfoy pull his hat over his eyes and kick a near by quaffle.

FOURTH, BLUE  
THIRD, RED  
SECOND, BLACK  
AND WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT, IN FIRST PLACE IS...YELLOW

My anticipation grew as each team had been called. My teammates and I jumped around hugging and high-fiving each other. Seamus heaved me up onto his shoulders hooting and hollering. Simon came running over when I was put back down and put his arm around my shoulder.

"You sure gave the Hufflepuffs something to be proud of," he whispered to me smiling until the other players all came over to congratulate us.

* * *

"So Anna what team are you going to try out for," Naomi asked with a mouth full of food as we sat at the Ravenclaw table eating dinner.

"I don't know...well defiantly not Slytherin, and I don't know if I want to tryout for Gryffindor because Harry's the captain and the seeker, so I'm stuck between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," I said figuring my situation out loud.

"Well I think you should try out for Hufflepuff," a familiar voice came from behind me.

"I don't know Simon, I mean I've never actually seen you play before..." I teased.

"Oh come on Anna give him some mercy," Naomi said sarcastically.

"Well I'm torn really," Simon stuck out his lower lip at me.

"Pleeeeeease," he said trying to stick his lower lip out further.

"Since you've resorted to begging I guess I can," I patted him on the head.

"Yesssssssss," Simon did a little happy dance and went back over to the Hufflepuff table to finish eating.

* * *

I sat on the floor of my room staring over at the invisible door handle; I had a book perched in my lap as I flipped through it trying to find a creature that fit the description of the ones I had seen behind that door. Flick sat perched on one of the posts of my bed.

"Red eyes," I muttered, "what has red eyes?"

"Vampires?" she asked.

"You're brilliant Flick, you know that? Truly brilliant."

I watched as she blushed and then wiggled herself into the side table drawer where I kept my locket hidden. I flipped to the v section in the book.

"Vagrants...valve pixies...vapor trolls..." I read, "oh too far...aha vampires."

I ran through the characteristics section of vampires until I came across what I was looking for, red eyes and vibrant hair color.

"Okay...the wicken vampire or _Vos feratu_. These creatures have been considered a hybrid of the common vampire. Many feared this gentle species because they very closely relate to the _Nos feratu_, the common vampire. But it has been proven that they, unlike the common vampire, feast only on the blood of evil beings and those of malice. During you-know-who's uprising he had these creatures banished and as a final solution, systematically killed to keep them from attacking his fleets."

Flick stuck her tiny head out of the drawer again, "That can't be what those are."

"Hold on there's more to it...and after you-know-who's fall it is said that the wicken vampires had become extinct on this planet, but it is also said that there was one clan that went into hiding in hopes to help if you-know-who came back into power..."

"Wow...do you think Dumbledore knows he has an extinct species of vampire under the floorboards?" Flick flew over to my shoulder and asked.

"I have a gut feeling he's the one who put them there," I looked into her pink eyes. Footsteps, borderline stomps, came rushing down the hall. I quickly closed the book in my lap and Flick zipped back into the drawer with so much force that it slide shut. My door creaked open.

"Nunes?" I heard a small voice come from the doorway; I turned to see Malfoy looking at me.

"What is it this time?" I spat, as I said this I could see him unleash the anger he was trying to suppress.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking! Trying to kill yourself out there!" he began to yell.

"For your information I knew exactly what I was doing, and I didn't need any help from you," I hissed back at him.

"I certainly wouldn't want anyone like you on my team, what with all your dare devil stunts," Malfoy continued to yell.

"Well I have some good news for you! I wouldn't want to be on your stupid team any way! I'm already trying out for a different one!" Malfoy looked defeated.

"Well I wouldn't want you on my team any way, besides the fact that you wouldn't make it on in the first place," I grumbled through his teeth.

"Let me tell you something Malfoy I could easily make your team with both hands tied behind my back."

"You think so? I feel a bet coming on."

"Really...fine. I tryout for the Slytherin team, and see if I make it with no input from you,"

"If you fail you have to be my lap dog for..." he stroked his chin lightly, "For two weeks, that means you follow me around and do what I tell you to when I tell you to," he looked very proud of himself for coming up with such an ingenious plan.

"Okay and if I don't fail you have to date Pansy for two weeks-"

"Deal," he said quickly.

"Not so fast I'm not done yet...and after those two weeks are up she has to dump you..." I stroked my chin thoughtfully and mockingly before finishing, "...publicly in front of the whole school," I smirked as I watched him contemplate if it was really worth taking, I prepared myself to hear a 'forget it' or a 'no way I'm not a complete airhead'.

"Sounds fair to me you've got yourself a bet," we shook hands and he marched off obviously thinking he would win. He was, of course, sadly mistaken.

* * *

_Alrighty there's the next installment! Thanks to everyone who has been reading and if you have a little time leave a review it would be appreciated. _


	15. Ancient Runes and Sandwiches

"You did WHAT!" Naomi whispered harshly at me as I took a rather large bite of my muffin. We sat underneath an oak tree in the morning sun trying to soak up the last of the warm days before the cold set in.

"Its just a little bet, besides what could happen," I spoke carelessly.

"What could happen? WHAT COULD HAPPEN! You obviously don't know Draco Malfoy very well do you!" I shook my head slowly as to not upset her as much as I already had, "What if he wins though?"

"If Malfoy wins, which he won't, all I have to do is follow him around and do stuff for him, and what do you think that will be, get him some pumpkin juice or do his potions homework, I really don't see him as a demonic overlord or anything," but Naomi looked worried.

"I've known Malfoy for seven years now and not once have I ever seen him show anyone mercy...do you understand what I'm saying? Anna?" she pulled me out of my daze.

"Hmm...oh I was just picturing Malfoy being forced to date Pansy that's all," I said smugly, moving my hands in front of me to create the scene.

"What are you talking about?" Naomi questioned me with a wicked look in her eye.

"Oh yeah, if Malfoy loses he has to date Pansy for two weeks and then get her to dump him," I said simply while Naomi stared at me.

"You know now that I think about it this could have some benefits," she smirked.

"What could have benefits?" I saw Hermione stumble around the tree carrying a pile of large books.

"Anna made a bet with Malfoy that she could make the Slytherin house team," I sat there wide eyed as the words tumbled from Naomi's mouth.

"Naomi," I grumbled through my teeth nudging her in the ribs.

"Really...and I thought that you were a bit smarter than that, Anna," Hermione scolded me a little.

"What? Are you saying that he would win, because he won't, I wouldn't have made the bet if I thought he would win Hermione," I said trying to keep myself from yelling.

"No Anna thats not what I meant, you see Malfoy has a way of...well...always getting what he wants...and this bet is something that he will not lose. Believe me," she explained setting down her books.

"Well then we'll just have to make him think he's won the bet, won't we," I smirked devilishly as Naomi and Hermione looked at me quizzically.

The next week had gone by leisurely I got the usual sneers and stinging remarks from Malfoy were the glares from Harry had calmed down a bit. Tryouts were in a week so I had been training vigorously with Ron and Gil had stopped by to check on me and we convinced him to play with us. Naomi, Hermione, and myself had concocted a brilliant plan to fool Malfoy into thinking he'd won the bet, when in all honesty, he wouldn't.

Thursday, after lunch, I skipped down the corridor my arm linked with Hermione's while she tried to get me to stop my 'infernal hopping', and Harry walked behind us. We headed our way to N.E.W.T. level Ancient Runes class. The three of us climbed into the front row table on the left side of the room, on the other side sat three Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff. Professor Babbling looked at the lot of us and just as she began to speak the door swung open and someone walked in.

"Ah Mr. Malfoy, so glad you could finally make it to class," she stated sarcastically, my head shot up from my notebook and I looked around beginning to panic. Malfoy wasn't in this class! What was going on? I then realized something when I lowered my head and spotted the empty seat next to me. I muttered a none too polite word which was heard my Hermione and quickly pushed my bag into the seat.

As I waited for the plop that signaled to me that there was no way Malfoy would sit there, I heard nothing. I cursed again under my breath as I saw Malfoy sit down with my bag in his hands. He slid it down onto the floor next to me.

"Smooth Nunes," he chuckled quietly at me, but I simply turned and focused all my attention to Professor Babbling at the head of the room. About ten minutes into the class a note slid in front of me.

_Nunes, I'm going to win the bet, just thought I let you know_

I quickly responded, out of the corner of my eye I saw Malfoy smirking at me.

Well I'm not too sure about that Malfoy...how did you get into N.E.W.T. ancient runes anyway?

I slid the note back over to him and he quickly replied.

_What do you care Nunes?_

Well...you kinda struck me as the patron saint of underachievers

_Hate to break it to you but I'm not all good looks_

Well I knew that already, all I have to do is look at you

I saw him read over the last statement, crumple up the note and shove it into his robe pocket.

"Now class I would like to assign you a project that will be a major part of your grade. I will place you into four groups of two and then continue explaining, alright I want," she looked down the row of students before her, "Potter and Granger...um...Nunes and..."

_Don't say Malfoy, don't say Malfoy_, I chanted this in my head. But I knew all too well what him sitting next to me meant.

"...Malfoy, then we have..." I stopped listening after that point.

"So looks like were partners Nunes," Malfoy smirked.

"Looks can be deceiving Malfoy," I looked down and let my hair slide down over my face.

Professor Babbling scurried across the front row, placing one of four boxes she held in front of each pair. Every student, granted there be only eight, looked up at Babbling. She jumped at our stare, as if the classroom was completely filled with students.

"Ah yes," she shouted, regaining her posture, "All of the information you will need can be found in these chests," I saw Malfoy pick ours up and try to pry it open.

"I'm sorry mister Malfoy but it isn't quite that simple. By next class, on Thursday, I would hope that you would, at least, know how to open your box..."

The professor continued explaining what little information she could. She passed out a sheet which held a short riddle that we might need for this advanced project. Babbling went on telling us how Merlin had enjoyed indulging in the ancient runes and had, himself, come up with a similar test that we had been given.

She ended with a direct quote, "In the immortal words of Merlin 'Its and adventure to end all adventures, a search to end all searches, a quest of your very own.'" Yes apparently he said that and yes we had to write an essay about why we think he said it in the first place.

* * *

"Class dismissed," Babbling said as she nested herself in to a chair. I meandered out of the class trying to avoid Malfoy and catch up with Harry and Hermione.

"Don't you hate it when teacher says to enjoy doing a project, its just another fancy word for work," Ron groaned as he read over the assignment we were given. We all sat scattered on the prefect common room couches.

"He has a point ya know," Naomi said sitting down next to him.

"Oh please Ronald that's not true we like working on projects right Harry?" Hermione quirked an eyebrow in his direction.

"Yeah suuure Herms," he spoke sarcastically and she whacked him on the back of the head.

"Letting a girl beat you up Potter?" a harsh voice came from the portrait whole and Malfoy walked into the common room.

"Shove off Malfoy!" Ron sat upright with the parchment his hands.

"What's that you got there," Before Ron could say anything Malfoy ripped it from his hands. "NUNES! What do you think your doing!"

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" I looked up from my spot on a floor cushion.

"Letting the enemy in on our project!"

"We just got it Malfoy, we haven't even started," I said calmly which was the least I could say about Malfoy.

"They could plan on stealing our information to make sure we fail!" Malfoy continued.

"You have this planned out well for an assumption," Harry snarled, "how do we know that you aren't planning on stealing ours."

"Why would I need to cheat if I can win with out even trying!" Malfoy shouted. Harry quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at Malfoy's throat

"HARRY!" Hermione pleaded.

"Go ahead Potter" Malfoy pulled out his wand without hesitation. Ron jumped on Harry's arm with his wand out as well and Hermione tried to pull them away. I stomped off, pushing Malfoy in front of me. Inside the Slytherin prefect dorm I swiftly turned and shoved Malfoy against the wall.

"Are you a bloody psycho!" I spat in his face, "are you trying to get yourself killed! I'm surprised that vein on your forehead didn't EXPLODE!" but all he did was smirk at me, "Watch it! You have know idea how much I want to punch that smirk off your face.

"What's the matter Nunes? Were you afraid for my life? I didn't know you cared so much?" he said still smirking.

"Shove it Malfoy," I hissed and smacked his arm.

"Don't worry I wouldn't have hesitated," Malfoy was too calm.

"So your trying to kill my friends!" I screamed, fists clenched and raised to his face.

"Didn't think you and Potter were best mates," he said calmly. I couldn't think of anything to say to that so the only sound I made was close to that of a growl.

"I think we should start that project," his said trying to calm me down, realizing that he wasn't making things better for himself.

"NO! not until you go out there and apologize, I refuse to work with someone who is going to be childish and uncivil," I began to feel tears welling in my eyes in frustration.

"Okay, okay..." he stood there watching the tears on my face, "quidditch tryouts are Saturday, if you win our bet and then I'll apologize to scarhead and the mudblood alright?" I looked up at him through teary eyes.

"fine..." I mumbled still not happy at the names he had called Harry and Hermione.

* * *

"Can we go start that project now?" I barely nodded and we went into his room so he could show me some books he found on enchanted boxes and riddles.

"Read it once more," Malfoy asked me as he paced around his room.

"With the help of a box shall you find these runes four," I began reading the riddle Babbling had given us for a time one too many.

"Well that's obvious, she gave us the bloody box. Read the rest."

"Oh yes almighty high emperor of the universe," I rolled my eyes as I said this and, with a glare from Malfoy, continued reading.

"In the heart of the jungle fire lurks,

In the midst of marble water is held most high,

In the eye of a beast earth is put on a pedestal,

In the crust of rising stone air is hidden from the wind."

After I had finished Malfoy plopped down on his bed and rubbed his forehead.

"Do you want to go and get some food then go back to reading?" Malfoy asked most likely because we sat around until six o'clock going over different books, completely missing dinner.

"I'll go grab some sandwiches or something," I offered.

"Getting ready to be my lap dog?"

"Oh shut up Malfoy," and I left to go to the great hall. On my short venture I began humming to myself.

I couldn't help but think about how cooperative Malfoy was being. When there was nothing to rile him up or he was on a set mission to beat Harry he wasn't so bad.

I returned in about ten minutes carrying two sandwiches, a small pitcher of pumpkin juice, and two goblets, the house elves let me take them up to the prefect rooms. When I got back Malfoy wasn't in his room where I had left him, he probably thought ten minutes siting for a sandwich was too long a wait. I remember having to wait at least twenty minutes before I could go and pick up a pizza at the Ridgewood Pond pizzeria, but then again he might have just been in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror, that seemed like the logical thing to past time for him.

"Malfoy?" I called down the hall.

"Yeah?" I heard coming from a different room.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing..." he shouted not so innocently and peeked his head out of my room.

"What do you think your doing in my room?" I stood there with my hands on my hips.

"Just browsing, why do you have beast encyclopedia?" Malfoy held up the book I used to find the wicken vampire information.

"I needed to look up something...wait stop changing the subject why are you in my room!"

"I told you browsing," he said.

"Stop grinning and lets at least get through a few more books before bed."

"Fine I'm coming," he tossed the book back into my room and walked down the hall into his room, "you have nice knickers by the way," I whipped around to face him sloshing the pumpkin juice, "kidding, I'm just kidding."

"You better hope that's the truth," I spat.

"I'm not going to read it again Malfoy I've read it at least six times," I whined.

"Just once more."

"Let me see the box!"

"Just read it!" Malfoy groaned and placed the box next to his last bit of sandwich.

"Much is known about magical boxes. They can be used to hide items, keep them safe trough a dangerous voyage, or send messages."

"Well that's not really that helpful," Malfoy said as he reached down for his sandwich but his hand fell down on an empty plate. He paused for a moment and shuffled his hand around behind himself. "What did you do with my sandwich," Malfoy looked over at me.

"I didn't touch your sodding sandwich Malfoy."

"Well what happened to it then. It didn't just disappear did it?"

"Well it wasn't me," I shook my head and stuck it back into the book I was holding.

"Of course not it was the box!"

"Okay, no need to get sarcastic with me," I rolled my eyes at the thought.

"No really look," Malfoy held up the box, a large grin on it's wooden face, gleefully chewing on the last forth of Malfoy's sandwich. I jumped up to go and retrieve the beast encyclopedia from my room.

* * *

_Here it is. I've been doing well, I've got all of my chapters rewritten and now I'm starting the next! Thanks to every one who's read it so far and don't forget to review!_


	16. Attack of the Red Dot

"Simon what are you doing," I asked the Hufflepuff whom had his hand planted squarely on my shoulders to guide me front of him. Simon asked me, that next Thrusday morning, if he could show me something; and after my short agreement, quickly tied a blindfold fashioned from a napkin around my face and told me that it was a surprise.

"I want to show you something remember," he chuckled at me.

"I feel really uncomfortable being out of control of my foot steps. Not to mention, I'm not the biggest fan of surprises. So just undo the blindfold and tell me what it is!" I rambled on soon tripping on the beginnings of a staircase.

"I can't tell you that it will ruin the surprise o'course," he half chuckled as he helped me up from my unintentional seat on the stairs. We continued on; the stairs creaked under the weight of our bodies, the floor of the landing did the same. "Okay open your eyes," I let my eyes flutter open slowly as they adjusted to the light on the quidditch pitch. I gasped at the sight.

"Is that f-for me?" I looked at him with a twinkle in my eyes when he nodded

"I figured that since your were going to tryout for the Hufflepuff team it would only be right to get your uniform ready,"

"I haven't even tried out yet," I picked up the uniform, feeling the fine fibers between my fingers. I ran my hands over the back number, 15, my current last name curved elegantly over the top.

"Well you see I have this in with the captains, so," he swung his arm over my shoulder, "unless you aren't trying out for Hufflepuff?"

"Who told you that," I asked quietly, averting my eyes from what I should have seen coming.

"It's the one thing everyone's talking about, that bet you and Malfoy have. You told me you would be on the Hufflepuff team," he looked at me with a hurt look in his eyes.

"It's just a bet, even if I do make it I'm not going to join the team, I'm just proving a point that Malfoy isn't as amazing and spectacular as he thinks he is," Simon's face lit up as he took in my explanation.

"Oh, well in that case I hope you beat that sod into the ground!" Simon flashed a large grin at me and we headed off down the rickety stairs to our first classes.

* * *

I quickly rummaged through my trunk trying to find my lost and forgotten ink bottle while needing to get to history of magic from my dorm in three minutes.

"Come on...come on," I began searching through pants pockets and shirt folds until I came across something, granted it wasn't my ink bottle, I could have a little fun with, I had found my laser pointer. I snickered to myself and after searching another ten seconds found my bottle. I stuffed my laser pointer and bottle into my robe, grabbed my bag and skateboard and took off to the class as fast as I could.

Rocketing down hallways and corridors, knocking over several students including a rather flustered Professor Flitwick, I took a dive into the classroom and tumbled into the seat between Hermione and Naomi. I smiled at each of the them which was not what I got from the pair. "Late much?" Naomi mouthed; Hermione only tapped the plastic watch on her wrist. I just kept smiling to myself and hugged my hand around the laser pointer in my pocket.

"Hey Ron watch this," I whispered to him as we sat eating lunch. Hermione had ran straight from History to the library. She still hadn't figured out how to open her box. I had offered help but she then ranted on something about academic dishonesty.

"Watch what?"

"When I say, look over at Malfoy," he looked at me strangely but nodded. I pulled the laser pointer out of my pocket and once again strategically pointed it at Malfoy's face. "Look," and from a distance we listened to the Slytherin table chatter.

"Hey Malfoy whats that on your face!" we heard Zabini exclaim.

"I don't know maybe my nose?" he said sarcastically.

"No he's right Malfoy," another Slytherin mentioned, "there's a weird red dot or something on your face." Malfoy brushed his cheek lightly.

"Is it gone?" and every single person around him shook their heads no; so he rubbed his hands over his face, "now?"

"No," Goyle mumbled.

"Watch this," I whispered to Ron, I began to move the laser around Malfoys face making it turn off and on.

"Drakie that red dot is-is possessed," Pansy shrieked, I then made it look like it had entered his head through his ear.

"Merlin that thing just went in your head!" I heard someone else shout. The dot came out the ear on the other side of his head.

"Malfoy it's attacking you!" Crabbe yelled, all the meanwhile Malfoy had a look of pure panic on his face and I heard Ron trying to keep from bursting out in laughter.

"GETITOFF GETITOFF," Malfoy screamed and we saw three different people dive at him, Ron and I were holding in everything we could.

"It's still there," Pansy yelled and pointed to the dot still on Malfoy's face.

"AHHHHHH!" Malfoy tripped over the bench and ran out of the hall.

"It's on the back of your head!" Nott shouted out after him.

"What-wasthat-thing," Ron sputtered out.

"That my friend was the infamous laser pointer," we both burst out laughing when a few Slytherins ran after Malfoy.

Hermione had caught back up to me with Harry close behind her as we made our way to ancient runes. She was explaining that if I were to get any where in life I would best be punctual, she was referring to my tardiness to Professor Binns's class. I had my and Malfoy's box safely tucked into a towel inside my bag. Hermione held a stack of books about enchanted, magical, and haunted boxes, while Harry held the box under his arm.

"So what's the reason for all those," I asked, eying the spines of the books neatly stacked in Hermione's arms.

"Those are to prove that there is no way, magical or physical, to open this bleeding box!" Harry had started talking calmly but lashed out in the end and threw the the box from under his arm, "I HATE YOU!" he kicked it down the hall.

"Stop it Harry you might hurt it!" I ran after the box and picked it up.

"It's made of wood Anna," Hermione looked over at me, "Harry's not going to hurt it."

"...I meant damage it, what if Babbling wants it back and it's all scuffed up. I smell detention," I singsonged and grinned at both of them.

"Did you and Malfoy find a way to open the stupid box?" Hermione peered from behind her books again.

"You'll just have to find out," I smiled and jumped ahead into the class.

"I'll take that as a no," Harry quirked his eyebrow and followed in behind Hermione. Shortly after we had arrived Malfoy plopped down in the seat beside me and let his head down on the table.

I had left the box in his room last night after we had tried to get the little guy to open up for us. This morning he stormed into the bathroom while I was mid-shower and tossed it onto my towel and began to howl over the lack of sleep he had gotten because the thing wouldn't stop yip yapping. I felt worse for the box than Malfoy.

He lifted his head and looked up at me, "You still have that stupid thing right," His face was sullen and his eyes clad with dark circles.

"Yes Malfoy," I patted my bag resting in between us on the floor. Babbling peered down at her watch and pulled herself up from her lush arm chair.

"May I ask how many of you succeeded on your homework?" she scanned the room for hands. I popped mine up lazily and looked down at my desk. A loud snore came from my right, I elbowed Malfoy in the ribs and he shot up from the desk with his hand raised. But he quickly slumped and rested his own elbow on the desk in a half-hand raise.

"Only one group," the professor started but she was cut off by Hermione.

"Professor there is no possible way to open that infernal box you handed out, I read every book I could get my hands on about boxes, even the packaging regulations of owl mail and found absolutely nothing."

"Well miss Granger you were simply looking in the wrong place, Miss Nunes, Mister Malfoy would you please show the class how you achieved this seemingly impossible feat?" Malfoy shook from another light sleep as I bumped my head against his arm while leaning to retrieve the box from my bag. "Oh please up here," she beckoned us with her hands.

"Well," I started as five pairs of eyes fell on Malfoy and myself when we walked to the front of the class. Carefully unfolding the towel I began to speak a little louder, "um...well just watch." I wiggled my finger over the surface of the box just under a small latch on the front. The box blinked open it's eyes and looked over at me. It made a small cooing noise and jumped, with a small click and a thud the top was open.

Every student looked, opened mouth, at the pair of us up in the front of the room. I pulled out the name of the creature I had copied from the beast encyclopedia. "It's called a jument box," Hermione whacked her hand across her forehead.

"Wonderful Miss Nunes, Mister Malfoy," Malfoy had only sat there, arms crossed, eyes closed.

I walked casually into defense against the dark arts behind a group of Hufflepuffs and looked around. I really didn't know anyone, well there was Malfoy but...well need I explain? And then there were Hufflepuffs and I only really knew Simon and he wasn't in this class.

"Hey Nunes over here," I turned to see Malfoy pointing to an open seat next to him. "I figured that since were partners for that ancient runes project we should sit together when we can," he said when I got close enough.

"Well nice of you to make the assumption," I said sarcastically and took the seat. I was surprised when I didn't get a glare or a gloat note ten minutes into the class from Malfoy, usually he writes a stupid little note saying how incredible-never mind. I looked at the note that had been slipped onto my notebook.

_Hey Nunes what'd you get for # 3_

He was referring to the worksheet the professor had handed out in the beginning of class.

Find the answer yourself Malfoy I'm busy

_Oh come on please?_

No!

When I passed the note back and he read it Malfoy then tapped me on the shoulder, I looked over at a pouting little blond boy. I pulled the note back over and wrote something else.

You keep asking me for the answers and you'll never get it.

_How do you know?_

If I tell you will you stop?

_Most likely_

Fine...forest troll

He then proceeded to wink at me and shove the note into his robes. I was annoyed enough. The blond wonder had continued to pester me through out the class...Now was my time to strike. I decided to break my trusty laser pointer. Strategically I pointed the small red dot at Malfoy's cheek.

"Malfoy..." I whispered from the corner of my mouth, he turned and mouthed "what" and I pointed to the new red dot on his cheek with a rubbing motion. "You have some red dot on your face" I whispered again. Suddenly his hand flew to his face so fast there was a loud crack and the whole room fell silent, I turned off the laser pointer just in the nick of time.

"Mister Malfoy is there some reason you're applauding your face in the middle of my lecture," the professor asked while most of the class giggled and held back laughter.

"N-no sir," I saw a red mark show up on his face as he looked back down into his notebook. "May I please be excused?" he asked, "I'm not feeling very well." The professor waved him out and Draco all but ran from the classroom.

When I got back to the Slytherin dorms and walked past Malfoy's room where I saw him sitting in the middle of his bed with a cloak draped over his head.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked from his doorway.

"Well there was this angry red dot on my face during lunch and then again while I was walking down the hall six times and then again in Defense Against the Dark Arts," his voice was muffled from underneath the cloak but I could still hear it shaking. I walked over and sat next to him on his bed and pulled off the cloak.

"You're hiding from an angry red dot?" I giggled at him.

"Well I'm sure you'd be afraid if it entered inside your body! I could have been killed!" he held a look terror and cockiness and pulled the cloak back over his head.

"Oh please I really don't think that's a good reason for hiding," I said pulling the cloak off once more.

"Well you weren't brutally attacked by something smaller than a Cornish pixie," he said matter-of-factly. I rolled my eyes and started to walk off.

"Hey Malfoy...you got something on your face," I brushed the side of my cheek.

"AHHHHHH!" he flung himself back under the cloak. I burst out in laughter once I had left.

* * *

"Ah ha ha..." Draco Malfoy heard Nunes' laugh echo from down the hall, it was an I-cant-believe-he-fell-for-that laugh. It was her, he just knew it; he knew she was the reason that he was attacked by and afraid of a dot. All he had to do now was find out how she had done it and seek revenge on that little witch.

He looked to see a little bird perched on the ledge outside his window.

"What are you looking at? Shut up!" Draco bellowed and then realized he had said it aloud. And of course there Nunes was, walking by just as he had said it.

"Talking to yourself Malfoy? At least your subconscious thinks you should keep your mouth shut," she smirked and left, probably to get ready for bed.

* * *

The next evening, I trotted out to the Black Lake. It was as glassy as it had been my first night at Hogwarts. The moon shone like a pearl in the murky water.

I rolled my speckled pebble in my hand, the retrieval stone Gil had given me. Taking a deep breath, I hurled the small rock as far as I could over the lake. With a splash the ripples went as quickly as they had formed. I stood looking over the surface waiting in the cold, dark night. The perfect reflection of the moon faltered and a head popped right up in the middle.

"GIL!" I shouted and waved my arms around in the dark. The figure moved across the water quickly. Gil stood up out of the water and walked over to me. He was completely soaked in the clothes he had been wearing the night he jumped into the lake.

"You rang?"

"Gil I need you to help me."

"Anything for you Mag's," the merman gave me a great smile.

* * *

_Hope everyone enjoyed chapter sixteen, chapter seventeen will be posted tomorrow! And a big thanks to_ _**Wolf-Guardian** for the lovely review._


	17. Scales and Tricks

Draco Malfoy lay sprawled out on his bed reading the most recent Quality Quidditch Supplies add in the morning's Daily Prophet when he heard the portrait door slam closed. Tossing the paper aside, he went to lean in the frame of his room's door. Nunes sauntered down the hall tossing a scaly blue bag up and own in her hand.

"What you got there Nunes?" he smirked from the door. He saw her jump at his voice and drop the bag on the floor.

"What-that...t-that's just some food for Tal," she said as she quickly scooped the scaly thing up.

"Who's Tal?" Draco quirked an eyebrow in her direction. She stared blankly at him for a second before answering.

"Our box"

"You gave that thing a name!" he chuckled at her.

"You obviously didn't read up on jument boxes did you, you have to treat them like a pet."

"Which includes midnight snacks I suppose?" She gave him a curt nod and went off to her room. When she opened the door Draco heard the stupid box yipping with excitement.

_Oh stop it..._ he thought to himself. He had to stop looking at her like that. Ever since last week when he had made her upset he couldn't help but feel a little bad. Draco shook his head. She was doing it again. Distracting him. He had to focus on the quidditch tryouts tomorrow.

Light filtered through the heavy curtains of Draco's dormitory room. This afternoon he would have to sit and watch a bunch of ninnies fly around in idiosyncrasy, trying to impress, not play. He was especially looking forward to Goyle's pathetic attempt.

He had been bragging that he had 'got himself learnt', _heh..._ And then there was Nunes. Draco could just tell her to leave the second she entered the pitch, or he could put her through the most grueling two hours of her life...that is if she even shows up. He sighed heavily, _Today is going to be a very good day_, and got up to take a shower. As he left his room Nunes ricocheted past him, down the hall, and out the portrait hole. She was up to something...

* * *

I ran down through the prefect common room and down through a cobwebbed corridors. After I took a sharp left an arm shot out of an empty classroom and pulled me in.

"There you are Anna are you ready I've got the hat from Ron." Hermione held up a tattered Chudley Cannons hat.

"And I fished some Slytherin robes out of the laundry," Naomi held up the black and green robes with her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Sorry guys but I've something else in mind. Something that will really get him," a smirk played on my lips. They both looked straight at me as I tossed them a small and scaly blue bag.

* * *

"Alright maggots! Line up," Draco shouted over the crowd of people ready to tryout for the Slytherin Quidditch team. he carefully looked over the new recruits. Goyle stood rather smug, his obvious hand-me-down broom clutched in hand. The lovely Daphne Greengrass' sister, Astoria, who Draco believed to be twice as nice. Draco watched as Harper stood scratching at his nose, and a few more stood in the line. But at the end, oh at the end stood a rather girlishly built lad, a Chudley Cannons hat pulled over his eyes and baggy robes.

Draco smirked to himself, _nice try Nunes,_ he thought. Stopping directly in front of her she shivered, but didn't look up.

"Alright you sissy's I want to see your stamina, ten laps flying," Draco tapped my chin slightly, "upside down, GO!" All of the players took off, their legs and arms tightly wrapped around their brooms, holding on for dear life...

"Not bad, for a bunch of handicap trolls!" he shouted over the line of recruits. Clothes develished, knees shaking, they looked a right mess, "What? Are you all tired from a wittle teeny stamina test?" he glanced over their emotionless faces; they would be a little harder to crack. He then glanced over at Nunes she looked the worst of all. She pulled the old hat she was wearing harder over her face.

"Alright lets break up into teams shall we," he said, an evil smirk over his face, "Goyle, since you seem so sure of yourself today you'll be seeker and captain for the first team," he gave a small grunt and stood next to Draco, "Stand over there you idiot."

"Oh right," he mumbled and scooted over.

"Okay Nu-ew kid what's your name," he inquired to Nunes.

"Um...Newell, Alfred Newell," she said matter-o-factly. Nunes made this far to easy. Draco's mind shot back to the day of the quidditch tournament. '_Sorry Malfoy I can't play chaser, I'm not very good at it, I'm more of a seeker.'_

"Okay Newell I want you to play chaser for Goyle..." he continued on making up teams and was joined by Nott who was planning on helping him pick out the new team.

With the teams chosen, and Nott and Draco as refs, they all shot up into the air. Goyle was an excellent seeker, a surprise because of his size. Draco was able to glance up Astoria's skirt once, only to be disappointed that she was wearing shorts underneath. Harper was rather skilled with a bat. As for the other tryoutees, they were all over the place. Nunes especially. She had almost fallen off her broom twice and she had squealed when a bludger had come too close for comfort. If Goyle hadn't caught the snitch not one person would have won.

After winning cheers from Goyle's team Draco had the candidates line up, "some of you did rather well and Nott and myself have made a list of players we find fit," he pulled the clipboard from under his arm and began to read off names and positions.

"I've only decided to change a few positions from last years roster, Harper you'll be beater with Nott. Baddock, keeper, Goyle, chaser, Davis, chaser, and Pritchard, chaser. That it the rest of you bugger off."

Draco brushed past Nunes and whispered in her ear, "Nice try Nunes, but better luck next time," but she stopped and looked up at him, and she was in fact a scrawny little boy. Draco looked a little confused.

"I see you're doing well in transfiguration then?"

"What?" the boy Nunes asked, "do you know where Nunes happens to be? Because she owes me two galleons. Never again shall I wear these putrid Slytherin robes, and I hate the Chudley Cannons!" the boy whined and pulled the robes off his back revealing the uniform of a Hufflepuff. Draco stood in complete shock; she hadn't even bothered to show up. She was so scared that she had sent a second year Hufflepuff to try out for her. He had won! She thought she could fool him and have someone try out in her place! Ha! The concept was laughable.

"Oi Malfoy!"

"What is it Goyle, I'm busy basking in my glory," Draco looked him straight in the face, brow furrowed and sweaty. Goyle winked at him.

"What are you getting at?" Draco spit.

"Hey Alfie!" Goyle shouted as he flipped two galleons in his direction. Alfie caught them and made his way off happier than a hippogriff with a collar of rats.

Suddenly the form of Goyle dissipated and in front of him stood the smaller frame of Nunes a smirk plastered across her face.

"You might want to get your buddy Goyle out of the third floor broom cupboard. He's been in there for a few hours," she tossed Draco a key and pushed passed him, skipping. The six-sizes to big Slytherin robes draping her and dragging on the ground.

* * *

"Did we get him?" Naomi sat up straight on the bench she had been laying on in the Great Hall throwing an apple up and down in her hand.

"You should have seen the look on his face," I gave a giant smile.

"You're going to get it Anna," Hermione said shaking her head and giggling.

"NUNES!" Malfoy had burst through the door of the Great Hall.

"I'll see you guys later," I grinned and ran for my life tripping over the Slytherin robes.

* * *

_Numero diciasette! New chapter out tomorrow please leave me a little review if you liked it or not._


	18. The Library and Angels

I had run around all afternoon trying to avoid Malfoy assaulting me with a wizardly weapon, and had finally found refuge in a far corner of the library. I left a trail of Slytherin robes scattered on a corridor floor to lead Malfoy away from my scent. I sat contently reading through the Beast Encyclopedia I had yet to return. As I flipped through the pages the thoughts of the invisible trapdoor handles and wicken vampires sped into my mind. I had been planning on a one on one session with Dumbledore on the matters

I sighed not wanting to move my tired body out of the comfy, squashy chair I had been inhabiting. Finally pushing myself up and out of the chair I trudged over to find the librarian's desk. I had found that the library wasn't just good for finding useful books, I also enjoyed people watching.

It just so happens that witches and wizards have rather peculiar habits. I had found one boy chewing at his wristwatch and flipping through a book that could have easily been larger than four dictionaries.

There was a group of students holding a silent, and rather violent version of a chess tournament. The librarian, Madame Pince, I had heard several choice words against her, quickly booted them out when one of the queens on the chessboard let out a war cry before taking out a bishop with her scepter. One other person caught my eye, it was a particular Hufflepuff deep in study, brow creased, eyes sharply focused.

At Madame Pince's desk she snatched the book from my hand and sneered. When I turned my back on her I made a crud face that made a first year Gryffindor snort. Only to be silenced by Pince's ear piercing shush.

I passed through the remainder of the library and out into an open hall. Walking carelessly, trying to decide if I should go and start some homework or go find an elusive house elf before dinner to get some food for Tal. But my thoughts were cut short because for the second time that day I was pulled into an empty classroom by a mysterious arm.

"Okay listen up Nunes I don't know what in Merlin's beard you did back there but..." Malfoy had began spitting words at me but stopped.

"You really should have thought this out a bit better Malfoy," I smirked at him.

"You-you...you little-"

"Best go find Pansy quick, before someone else scoops her up. We wouldn't want that wittle teeny bet of ours being broken. Because I assure you the repercussions will be much worse than the negotiations. Oh and I would go find Hermione and Harry the get started on that apology," I said still smirking. He let go of me and I brushed past him. Right before I reached the door Malfoy grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"How the bloody hell did you do that," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Why what ever do you mean?"

"You had no time to make a polyjuice potion. How did you turn into Goyle?"

"Killing you is it? A good witch never reveals her secrets, Malfoy, because if she did it wouldn't be as grand of a trick now would it?" I smirked and pulled my arm from his grip and clamored away as fast a possible. My legs would just have to take one last run. And Dumbledore could wait until Sunday.

* * *

I woke rather late the next morning and my body didn't seem to want to get up out of the sun drenched bed. But I had a very important reason to be up and out the door headed to the head master's office.

"Come on lets go," I groaned down at my body, but I still wouldn't will it to move. My eyes traveled to my amulet that had fallen out from my nightshirt. I usually let Flicka Faye zip around my dormitory well I was in classes and told her to hide under the bed, or in the bed side table drawer when she heard anyone except myself. I unlocked the front hatch and Flick glanced up at me from the velvet interior, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning Flick did you have a good night?" I smiled at the glowing faerie. She gave me that 'bite me' look and curled back into the velvet. She was always a negative Nancy in the morning. I smiled and shut her back inside. I really should get going the creatures under my bed were starting to give me the creeps.

I followed my own advice and, after showering and dressing, I walked briskly to Dumbledore's office. My head was pounding; I was finally going to get some answers to the questions I wanted to ask. Never had this happened, Melinda had always told me what she thought I should know not what I wanted. And for once she couldn't tell me what I could and couldn't do.

I found Dumbledore heading up towards his office, his face brightened when he caught me in the hall.

"Well Miss Nunes is there something I can do for you?" his eyes twinkled in the light of the corridor.

"Um-yes professor. I found something peculiar in my room," I started.

"What sort of oddity do you speak of?"

"Well it's a door handle that isn't really there," I stopped realizing how mad that had sounded, but his eyes grew brighter.

"Follow me Miss Nunes," he stood in front of a golden statue, "butter crunch," he said gleefully and the statue began to turn revealing a large, grimy staircase, "This way."

I followed the old man up the stairs and into his office. Small gadgets whizzed and whirred. Some burped clouds of colorful of smoke while others were as shiny as mirrors.

"Maggie," I looked up when he said my real name, "there is something, or somebody rather, that I would like to show you."

"But what about the-" he put up his hand to stop me.

"I'm sure this will explain everything," he smiled again.

"Sir I just want to make sure I'm not going mad, I found a door without a visible handle," I pleaded.

"You can't open something that doesn't have a handle now can you Maggie?" He began walking into the back of the office.

"But there was a handle it was just, well it was just invisible!"

"Do you have any secrets, Maggie?"

"Who doesn't," I said, rather caught off guard and frustrated with his cryptic codes.

"Well you don't want people knowing them, correct?"

"Yeah I guess."

"So you don't tell anyone, keeping them invisible in a sense."

"Sure," I crossed my arms, playing along.

"You make them invisible so others will not find them. So, maybe, that handle was not to be found by the wrong person?" he said in a question.

"Oh I'm sorry if I had known I wouldn't have-"

"Then it still wouldn't be a secret would it?"

"No it wouldn't," I peered down at my trainers. Dumbledore had kept a cheery tone through the whole discussion.

"Luckily I was planning on sharing this secret with you anyway," he chuckled when I looked up in complete shock, "follow me." He tapped his wand to a tapestry; conveniently enough the picture on the long cloth was of a finely carved door. The handle came to life from the tapestry and Dumbledore turned it smoothly.

"Right this way Miss Dempsey," we entered into the circular room with the door standing in the center and the head of a lion in the middle, a knocker hanging from his mouth. I gasped at the sight and Dumbledore gave a small smile.

"Well it would seem you've seen this before?" I didn't dare speak, "and it would seem the key is missing as well. Would you have anything to do with that?" I nodded barely, "no matter,_ accio key_!" his voice boomed, ricocheting of the round walls. The silver key flew from nowhere right into his hand. Smiling, he fit it neatly into the lock and the tumblers echoed in the room. From inside the door a boy with bright blue hair and a girl whose hair was electric purple stood at the door, their red eyes seemed to penetrate through my skin, into my soul.

"She's returned," the boy said revealing sharp pointed incisors, "and Albus how nice of you to visit."

"Yes I have something for you both," He smiled and pulled out a bag of small, sour looking, candies.

"Oh thank you Albus," the girl cooed.

"Also I would like to introduce you to someone, this is Anna Nunes," I noted that he had used my new, fake name in front of others.

"Hiya Anna, I'm Marco Cherub and this is my sister Leelu," the girl grabbed my hand, her hands white against my own.

"It's very nice to meet you, please come in!"

"Cherub? Like angels?" I questioned as we sat inside of Marco and Leelu's home inside the door sipping a strange tasting tea.

"Yes like angels," Leelu giggled, her red eyes flashing.

Dumbledore had explained to me, most I already knew, that Marco and Leelu were, in fact, wicken vampires and had come to him when there family was killed by Voldemort, looking for a place to hide.

"Would you like another cuppa?" Marco offered me but I politely declined.

"Anna is quite right, we best be getting back, I'm sure she still has homework to finish."

Dumbledore and I said our good byes and left the cleverly hidden home. Dumbledore locked the door behind himself.

"Professor? Is that lock to keep them in?" I asked quietly.

"No, it is there to keep things out," he said but I didn't see any hint of a smile on his face. We made our way through the tapestry once more. I was ready to leave for I did still have homework.

"Oh Maggie," I turned back to the headmaster, "I think you should have this, I have a feeling your good at keeping secrets," a smile was once more on his face as he held the key in his hands.

"Thank you sir," I took the key, stuffed it into my back pocket and left for the pile of work on my desk in my dormitory.

* * *

_I took Sunday off this week, I'm thinking of taking weekends off to catch up on my writing. So updates five times a week! Hope you enjoy reading! Please leave reviews, it's what keeps me going :)_


	19. Girlfriends and Rings

The sun seemed to linger behind the mountains when I woke up the next morning. My legs were still a little sore and my bed never stopped being inviting. But I made my way through getting ready for class without even a fleeting visit from Malfoy. I found my skateboard under my bed, and luckily enough my bag had been there as well. I left the prefect common room, board under my arm and bag over my shoulder, trying to finish tucking in my shirt.

Naomi quickly linked my arm in hers when I came into the Great Hall for breakfast with Hermione and Ron.

"So..." she walked in turn with me, a big silly grin on her face.

"So what?"

"Well from what I've heard from little Alfie Newell is that you won that bet between you and Malfoy. What is it he had to do again," Naomi smiled and cupped her ear.

"He has to date Pansy...then get her to dump him publicly...I've already told you this at least twenty times!" I wiped my hand down over my face.

"I know but I never tire hearing it," she jumped around.

"Hold on there Eager McBeaver," I spotted Malfoy walking down the crowded hall, "he probably won't even hold up his end of the bargain!" I shouted so everyone would hear. He quickly glared at me out of the corner of his eye and I gave him a cheeky smile and turned back to Naomi. "Come on I'm starved," I pulled Naomi toward the Gryffindor table.

"I'll see you in DADA Naomi," I waved goodbye and her red-brown tresses shook with the intensity of her wave back. I took the corridor down into the dungeons to Potions. I stopped when I saw that a crowd had gathered just outside the classroom. Where there's a crowd there's a reason.

I scurried off after a group of Gryffindors to find out what all the hubbub was about. And then I saw it; the contrasting colors of bleach blond and black were tucked into the middle of the students.

"You heard me right Pansy. So will you be my girlfriend?" Draco shouted and caught my eye. Pansy looked as if she would throw up she was so excited. A high-pitched squeal was emitted from her lips as she quivered.

"YES! OH DRAKIE YES!" she threw her arms around him. Only seconds after her embrace the crowd filed into the potions classroom. I stood there watching Malfoy and Pansy shaking my head and smirking. His upper lip curled into a sneer when he caught sight of me once more before I went and took my seat between Ron and Dean.

I was rather enjoying this situation, as I heard sighs and grunts that sounded quite similar to 'Pansy get off me'. I couldn't help but smile to myself. Snape had also taken notice of the newly formed bond between Malfoy and Pansy.

"Mister Malfoy would you please control your little girl there, perhaps?" Snape drawled after the sucking noise Pansy had been making on Malfoy's face had disrupted the class. But it only got better.

"PANSY SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP WILL YOU!" at this point Malfoy was up from his seat, screaming.

"Mister Malfoy! I will see you in detention later this evening I believe." Draco sighed his dislike. "Make Tuesday and Wednesday night as well."

And with that Pansy left him alone busying herself with her potion ingredients. I, on the other hand, snorted loudly and Snape decided that singling me out would prove best punishment.

"And what, pray tell Miss Nunes, it so terribly clever?" his sneer clung to his word.

"I only simply got some belladonna root paste in my nose sir," I lied through my teeth. But Snape seemed to find my answer rather funny.

"If that had happened Miss Nunes you would be on the ground gasping for breath," he said still sneering but left it at that. I guess all those tedious hours spent studying potion ingredients with Melinda hadn't paid off.

After a frightfully boring Charms class Wednesday morning that was continually interrupted by Malfoy, he was still angry about his third night of detention, I was glad I was going to spend the remainder of the morning with Hagrid and what ever he had hiding in his coat.

"There yer are Anna! I have something to show every one today, I think yer might like it the most," he winked at me. I had level seven Care for Magical Creatures, so I waited for Naomi, Ron and Hermione sitting on the step of Hagrid's hut.

"Alrighty then all of yer follow me," Hagrid motioned to the class of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws to follow him down to the lake.

"Hagrid? What are we doing here?" Harry had asked. I tried to avoid Harry because he didn't like me very much, not after the day of the rally when I caught the snitch before he did.

"Well Harry I 'ave a special treat for yer all, today we are gonna meet a very unique creature, there none too nice but this one seemed even tempered-" I had stopped listening, there in the water, there looked as if a frog had peeped its eyes to take a look around, "now don't go gettin' on their back," the eyes came further out of the water and I realized that they weren't eyes at all, but nostrils. Then the head of a horse, with pearly white eyes, emerged from under the surface, then the entire beast stood on the shore, velvet green coat glistening in the sun, "shape shifting," were the last words I caught from Hagrid because I had ran from the group heading right towards the kelpie standing a little ways away. Hermione saw what I was doing first and tried to grab my shirt but failed.

"ANNA!" she screamed, I wasn't listening. The kelpie saw me coming and reared up with glee. I threw my arms around Soobie's neck and, because of my speed, flew up and around onto his back. Harry began to run after me. By this time Hagrid had caught notice and was yelling at Harry.

"Harry get away from the kelpie!"

"WHAT ABOUT ANNA!" I heard Naomi scream. Hermione had grabbed onto Ron to keep from fainting. But Harry took no notice to Hagrid's warning and continued to run. Soobie reared up with a strong whinny.

"Soobie stop," I whispered into his ear, he ceased and gently dropped his front hooves to the rocky shore.

I heard flurries of 'Anna!' and 'Get away!' but Hagrid's booming voice conqured them all. "Don't yer worry class that there kelpie won't harm Anna," he quieted everyone down. I swung down from Soobie's back to make introductions.

"Uh everybody," I started trying to get everyones attention, "This is my friend Soobie. And Soobie these are my classmates," I smiled up at the kelpie.

"Well it's nice to meet all of Ma-Anna's friends," Soobie had caught himself before I even noticed what he was saying.

Soobie and I spent my lunch period sitting down by the lake talking.

"And Maggie," Soobie whispered, "Melinda needs to talk to you, tonight, do you think you can meet me out here on the lake?"

I nodded lightly, "Yeah I will."

"I'll see you over by that tree at dark, bye Mags," The horse smiled and trotted back into the water.

"Wait, Soobie, what does she want?" I yelled out but he had already gone.

"Who wants what?" Simon's voice came from behind me.

"What?" I turned around quickly, "Oh nothing Simon," I smiled.

"You're missing lunch. So I brought you a sandwich," he said holding it out.

"Thank you."

* * *

I sat in the prefect dorm during dinner, far to curious to even think about food.

What would Melinda want? Why was it so important. But then I thought about it a little more. Melinda always had something important to say to me know-a-days.

My thoughts were stopped when a blond head popped into my door.

"I hope your happy," Malfoy sneered.

"Why? What did I miss at dinner?" I smirked in his direction. He didn't want to be defeated and he certainly didn't look it. It was the way he talked that made him sound like a part of him was missing from reality, that it was hidden in a recess of his mind plotting. He was far to calm.

"There was really good pudding," he shrugged.

"Well you better run along, Snape wouldn't want you late for detention would he?" he face recoiled from calm to anger, _that's better_, and he stormed off only after slamming my door shut.

* * *

Draco Malfoy had made his way to Snape's class room for detention. The dungeons were colder than usual, then again it could have been from his foreboding feelings of the night's activities.

"Drakie!" Pansy shouted from behind him, making him cringe and quickly turn around

"What?"

"I'm sorry Drakie. Do you want me to help?"

"No Pansy just go away," he said rubbing his forehead.

"I'll be waiting for you," she held a sickly sweet smile on her face. But Draco just walked off deeper into the dungeons to find Snape's office.

"Ahh mister Malfoy, I see you have finally decided to join me?" Snape hissed.

"Yes sir," Draco muttered, looking down at his shoes.

"Well, as it seems, I am running low on knotgrass and fluxweed. You will need to go down to the garden nearest the lake and collect some samples," Snape handed him a book marked in two places, "that should help you find them in the ground's gardens," he said still sneering.

"Yes sir," Draco quickly left, he wanted to get this done a fast as possible.

* * *

After dark had completely crept over Hogwarts I took off into the night toward the lake. Near the large tree, the one Soobie had pointed out earlier, sat Melinda next to Soobie and Gil.

"I didn't know we were having a full out pow-wow? I would have brought my head dress," I smiled at the group and let flick out of the amulet.

"Come on now Maggie we have some important things to get through and very little time to do it," Melinda said while seating me down, "Okay," she straightened out her dress, "first I need to give you this," Melinda handed me a ring. But it wasn't made of any kind of metal, but a simple band of marble.

"What's this for?" I asked spinning it around on my left middle finger.

"Have you had any strange dreams lately? That seemed to happen while you were awake?" I looked over Soobie and Gil.

"Yeah actually I have."

Melinda began to nod, "Well this ring will help keep these visions under control."

"It's only happened once Melinda," I protested.

"Well they will progressively get worse, even more intense. This ring will keep them calm and in your dreams."

"But-"

"Maggie," Melinda said warningly, "will you just wear the ring?"

"Fine," I sighed.

"Now the other thing, Maggie we had a scare, deatheaters showed up at your house looking for you," Melinda had a sad look on her face.

"Death Eaters?"

"Voldemort's followers-"

"They didn't get to my parents did they!" I shouted as anger and fear welled in my voice.

"No I was able get them out of the house. But...the house-"

"What about the house?" I looked up at Melinda through wet, blurry eyes.

"Your house is gone, they burnt it to the ground," my body began to shake with sobs.

"I'm sorry Maggie," Melinda tried to console me.

"Where are my parents," I choked out.

"I applied a fidelius charm to their housing, I'm their secret keeper. So I can't answer that question," I nodded causing my tears to drip down my cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Maggie," Gil said and gave me a bear sized hug.

"You and Flick should go and try to get some sleep," Soobie whinnied softly. I nodded again and Flick zipped back into my amulet.

"Night guys," I said softly wiping the tears off my cheeks my shoulders still shaking. Soobie and Gil Made their way to the Black Lake and Melinda rode her broom low into the dark forest.

I started back up to the castle following the lake shore. I continued to rub my eyes. At least my parents are okay. That's all that really mattered, I reassured myself.

"UAGGHHGAH!" I jumped at the shout and splashing. In the moonlight the sloshing water twinkled, the only obstruction was the outline of the person splashing around.

"Where the bloody hell is that sodding basket!" the figure yelled.

"Malfoy?" I stood with my hands on my hips trying to subtly wipe the last of my tears away.

"Nunes?" the figure stopped splashing in the knee deep water.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?"

"Well thanks too _you_, I had detention with Snape. So I lost the basket full of knotgrass and fluxweed I was supposed get trying to fend off some creature that flew passed my head," I immediately thought of Melinda flying low on her broom.

"Sounds exciting," I hissed sarcastically to cover my weak voice.

"Well what are you doing out passed curfew?" Malfoy cocked an eyebrow.

"I was just...just taking a w-walk," I felt tears building behind my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Malfoy must have noticed because he stood up a little straighter.

"Is some thing the matter?" Malfoy asked as he sloshed out of the water soaking wet and covered in mud.

"It's nothing," I muttered as a tear dripped from my chin, Malfoy caught it between his fingers.

"Certainly doesn't look like nothing," he said rubbing his thumb and index finger together.

"I just got some bad news is all," another tear fell from my eye and my shoulders began to shake once more.

"Come on lets get back to the castle," Malfoy wrapped his arm around my shoulder and lead me down the shore.

"Your an idiot," I said quickly.

"Excuse me?" Malfoy dropped his arm. I pick up his basket from the ground and handed it to him. He gave me a sharp glance we walked on.

After Malfoy dropped of the basket and Snape and given his approval we headed back to the prefect dorms. But we were both surprised to find Pansy sitting in front of the large portrait. She stood up quickly and glared at me.

"What are you doing with her?" Pansy asked sharply to Draco.

"Well Pansy, as prefect I'm to make sure everyone is in bed, Nunes is part of the everyone, and so are you," Pansy looked at him and then to me. I was sure she could tell I had been crying.

"Drakie will you walk me back to my dormitory?" she asked grabbing his arm.

"No Pansy I won't. Just go to bed," he said and wrenched his arm from her grasp, "let's go Nunes," Malfoy muttered as he pushed me through the portrait hole leaving Pansy behind.

"If looks could kill," I muttered and went to get ready for bed when Malfoy's head popped in the doorway of my room.

"So are you going to tell me why you were actually out past curfew?"

"Are you always this nosy?" I asked fiddling with my toothbrush. Malfoy gave me a look.

"Just something that happened at home," I muttered .

"What kind of something?"

"What are you trying to get at?" I asked, but Malfoy only shrugged and closed the door.

* * *

_There's the next chapter! And a special thanks to** ScarletGirl13** for the lovely review. Hope you all keep reading!_


	20. Thank You

The next morning I had no desire to pull back the duvet. My head was still spinning with fear and anger. What Melinda had told me had thoroughly disturbed me, and she had been right to send me here. I never considered the actual danger I was in, until now. I don't think I would feel safe anywhere. But why send me here? Isn't Hogwarts the most prestigious school for witchcraft and wizardry? Wouldn't this be the first place Voldemort and his cronies would look?

Another troubling dilemma was after my conversation with Melinda, Soobie, and Gil, Malfoy was decent to me...well up until I wouldn't tell him every seething detail. I should have thanked him. Then I laughed to myself. Thank him? Yeah, sure.

I stayed in bed through my two morning classes and lunch. I just wasn't hungry. The portrait door slammed shut at the end of the hall. Malfoy opened up my door.

"What are you doing, Nunes? Why weren't you in class?" Malfoy asked, a combination of a glare and concern on his face.

"What do you care, Malfoy?"

"Well I'm a prefect, and it's my job to make sure _everyone_ gets off to class."

"You seem rather sure of yourself," I buried my head further into my pillows.

"Your not still bitchy because of what ever happened are you?"

"You," I jumped up from my bed, pointing my finger at his chest, "have no right to tell me how to feel!"

"I-"

"And another thing! You will not just spurt random bits of kindness!"

"Are you done yet?" Draco asked.

_Thank you_

"Thank you," It was out of my mouth before I could think. Malfoy's smirk dropped from his face.

"What? Why? What did I do," He stammered and stepped back a pace or two.

"You listened to me. Granted you didn't do much to help. You still listened," Malfoy quirked an eyebrow, "Thank you Malfoy."

"Well since you've already missed your morning classes we might as well work on that Ancient runes Project. Get that stupid box"

That afternoon Tal sat contently in front of me on the desk in ancient runes. Hermione and Harry's box, named Arthur, scuttled around a little uncontrollably along with the other two boxes on the other table. Near the end of the period, Babbling stopped our lesson.

"Now class," Professor Babbling started, "you all have the jument boxes I gave everyone a couple of weeks ago," we all nodded and held them up, "well, with the headmaster's permission, this weekend you will be able to put them to good use. You see every year I give this project to take care of my jument boxes which lead to a midterm of sorts. So as I was saying before, that weekend shall be your test. You will use the boxes to locate four runes, the runes of water, air, earth, and fire."

"How do we know where to find the runes?" Hermione asked.

"Well Miss Granger you'll have to utilize your jument boxes in every way necessary. Class is dismissed," the professor smiled at the small class as we left.

"What does she mean?" Hermione looked as if she would pull out her hair.

"Did you do any research on jument boxes Herms?" Harry asked over her shoulder.

"Of course Harry I read every book there was in the library! Anna where did you get your information?" Hermione asked.

"Everything I found was in the Beast Encyclopedia," At that point Hermione had stopped walking.

"Of course why hadn't I thought of that! I'll meet you in the library in five minutes, Harry!" and with that Hermione was off down the corridor, leaving me with Harry.

"See ya Nunes," Harry left to catch up with Dean.

"Bye Potter," I mumbled.

* * *

"Nunes? Potter? You two seem to be getting along smashingly," Draco hissed sarcastically over Nunes' shoulder.

"Shove it Malfoy," she rolled her eyes, but he continued to follow her, "did you want something else?" she asked with hands on her hips.

_You're welcome_, he thought.

"Yeah you're...stupid! Why did you help Granger and Potter. Now they'll be able to beat us."

"Malfoy this test is not a competition. Let's just try to pass, alright."

"Whatever Nunes. Let me see the box-"

"Tal."

"Would you let me see Tal, I want to try something."

"Fine, just don't hurt him," Nunes handed him the stupid box.

* * *

I watched Malfoy almost prance off. At the sight I suddenly began to fear for Tal's well being.

After dinner I made my way back to the prefect dorms and found Ron sitting outside the portrait. "Ron what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for Harry and Hermione," he said from his seat on the floor.

"Well Hermione dragged Harry off to the Library this afternoon." I said and Ron shot up from his seat.

"Merlin's beard I've got to save Harry," and with this Ron was off down the corridor. Having no one to talk to and trying to put off homework I grabbed my skateboard and tried to find an empty courtyard.  
The sun still lingered over the castle when I found a completely deserted one. I zipped around performing the occasional trick, ollie, pop shuvit, kickflip, heelflip.

"What the hell are you doing Nunes?" Malfoy hissed from the shadows.

"Where's Pansy?" I asked to the shadows.

"I don't know and I don't really care," he hissed reveling his face, "and you didn't answer my question."

"Haven't you ever seen a skateboard before?"

"I have never associated with any kind of muggle device."

"Oh come on its loads of fun."

"I'd rather not, thanks," he said glaring at my board.

"Come on I'll teach you how to ollie," I rolled the skateboard to his feet.

"No," he crossed his arms.

"I'll cut a couple of days off your Pansy sentence. How about that?" Draco had a look of serious consideration on his face.

"Fine," Malfoy then fully emerged from the shadow of a pillar.

"You see that wasn't so hard was it?" I smiled over at a limping Malfoy, "aren't you happy you landed that ollie?"

"Yeah sixth-hundredth times the charm, ow!" he mumbled sarcastically picking at the scraps on his arms.

"Geez don't pick at the road rash, you'll scar it," Malfoy quickly dropped his hands from my scolding, "so what did you try with Tal?"

"Well I figure that to find those runes there has to be some kind of map right?"

"Make's sense," I nodded in agreement.

"Well I figure that the box has that map somewhere," I quickly looked up to Malfoy.

"Your a genius!" I slapped him on the shoulder and he cringed, "sorry, now come on," I grabbed Malfoy's hand and pulled him back to our dormitories.

"Why do you have your history of magic book," Malfoy asked as I sat down on his bed. I quickly ripped out a world map from the binding.

"I read in my Care for Magical Creatures year 1 book."

"Your in first year Care for Magical Creatures? Hahaa, that's rich."

"Do you want me to hurt you?" I snapped, pointing my wand at him.

"Not really...as you were saying."

"As I was saying, there's a section about assistant beasts, so we put this in here," I opened Tal's lid and placed the map inside, "Tal can you show us where the runes are," the box yipped and did a little backflip.

I opened the lid and pulled out the book pages. Smiling I threw the marked map at Malfoy.

"That's it?" he asked.

"That's it," I smiled back.

"I don't believe it," he said crossing his arms. I looked over the map for a few moments letting all of my muggle history lessons seep back out.

"Look. In the heart of the jungle fire lurks," I recited pointing to a small mark in the middle of Brazil. "You know the Amazon jungle that's where the fire rune is. And in the midst of marble water is held most high," my finger ran over to the small mark over Rome, "Rome has all kinds of ancient statues. And then in the eye of a beast earth is put on a pedestal," My finger then moved down to the mark over Giza, "The beast is probably the sphinx. And finally in the crust of rising stone air is hidden from the wind," I let my finger slip over to the small mark in china. "The rising stone is probably the great wall of China."

Malfoy looked positively dumbfounded. "You got all of that from that map?" I nodded at his question and a smirk pulled across his face.

"Brilliant. We can start planning travel routes tomorrow," he said and I was sure his mind slipped into a daydream about beating Potter.

* * *

Ron Weasley watched as Hermione was ripping through book after book. She continued to rant on about how she had found nothing useful about jument boxes in all of the editions of beast encyclopedias.

"'Mione I'm going back to the common room." Ron said from next to Harry.

"Students I have to close up the library, up and out!" Pince sneered at Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"Come on Hermione we'll look tomorrow," Harry said as he pulled her from her seat.

"But-But," she stuttered, but she just let the books be.

* * *

_Chapter 20! I have about another weeks worth of chapters ready. After that they'll start coming a little slower as I have to write them out but have no fear I will finish. Also I'm thinking of revamping my Moontrimmer story, mostly adding a different beginning from another story i had started and left behind. That opening seems to fit better into MT and will, hopefully, remove the vague confusing bits of it. Let me know what you all think and don't forget to leave a review!_


	21. Early Rises and Malicious Malfoy

"Nice dodge Anna!" Simon shouted from across the grassy field, a large grin across his mouth. I had to admit that I loved it when Simon smiled at me. My insides seemed to flutter into my throat and, not to mention the fact that I couldn't help but smile like an idiot back. Simon wrapped his arm around me when I had dismounted my broom, "I think we've found our new seeker."

"Really!" I smiled back and threw my arms around his neck.

"Yeah practice Saturday."

"This Saturday?" I looked up warily, clutching tightly to my broom.

"Yeah...why?"

"Well I have that horrid-"

"Ancient Runes test. Everyone has been talking about it. I've seen sickles flying around every where for bets." Simon said grasping the back of his neck, that handsome smile still on his face.

"Bets! Do these people have nothing bloody better to do than gossip and start pots?"

"There all just school children," Simon put his arm around my shoulders.

"Hey Gaverey heard you put five galleons on Nunes and Malfoy! Nice one!" one of the Hufflepuff beaters mock punched Simon in the shoulder as he walked by. Simon's face turned six shades of red and he pulled his arms to himself.

"Anna I can explain," he started.

"So much for sickles eh?" and with that last remark I walked as fast a possible of the pitch and back to my room. Boys, just when you start to like them they do something stupid and conniving.

I opened my door with a sigh. I _had_ planned to plop down onto my bed and never move again. Unfortunately Malfoy had already made himself comfortable, fiddling with my skateboard.

"It's about time you got back here. What where you doing?"

"I'm sure that the better question is what are you doing in my bed?"

"Well isn't it obvious? I'm here to see you," he quirked his eyebrow suggestively at me.

"Get out," I pushed him off the bed.

"I'm only kidding, kidding!" He shouted until I stopped trying to get him to budge, "I was just coming to suggest that you start packing, we're leaving early tomorrow morning," he started to spin the wheel carelessly.

"What?" I pulled the board from his hands and rolled it across the room.

"I showed Babbling the maps after class. So she's giving us a head start early Saturday for my," he cleared his throat, "'augmented astuteness'."

"You do mean my augmented astuteness?"

"Close enough. Were going to whoop Potter, right?" I smiled slightly at his words.

"I guess," I sighed. Suddenly Hermione burst in. Her hair maliciously larger than usual, papers and books sticking out of her pockets. In her hands she held an aged, thin atlas.

"Anna! I've figured it out!"

"Don't get your cloak in a twist Granger," Draco hissed from his spot leaning on the wall.

"Why don't you piss off Malfoy," Hermione had no trouble throwing the jeer back at him.

"What did you just say you little mud-"

"Malfoy. Go. Now," I shouted and pushed him out the door, "what's so exciting Hermione?"

"I've figured out how to find the runes!" she threw the atlas open to a marked page. There, just like the map Malfoy and myself had, there were four specific coordinate locations on her map.

"Yeah I know, Malfoy and I figured it out already. In fact Malfoy decided that it was such a _brilliant_ idea to tell Babbling. And now I have to wake up earlier than I would like and trail after him in an adventure stricken daze. Boys," I finished shaking my head but when I looked up Hermione was already out the door.

I had finished packing the few changes of clothes that I would need when Draco slipped the maps under my door.

"You hold on to these, that lot won't think I gave the maps to you," he said through the door quietly. I picked the pages of my book off the floor and examined the locations of the four runes. Draco's sharp but elegant writing inked numbers next to each location. I assumed that spot marked number one would be the first place we would seek a rune. There was also countless other marking and dotted lines that looked much like a quidditch strategy. Completely confused I went straight for Draco's room.

"And what is all this supposed to mean?" I asked form the doorway.

"I fiddled around with some route tacts. You know possible apparition points, broom airways, any other form of near by wizard transportation."

"Oh, you've seemed to have really thought this through," I held the marked map in my hands.

"Not really," he shrugged not looking my way.

"Well, good night," I lifted my hand in a half-hearted wave.

"Yeah night." he said lazily. I turned round and out the door but popped my head in to say one last thing. But at the sight of Draco's back decided against it and left to turn in for the night, not in any way tired.

_

* * *

"I'm smarter than you are! I'm smarter than you are! I won! HAHAHA" An eight-year-old Maggie sung across the old wooden table at Draco. She began to grab the cards from the table and threw them up into the air like confetti._

_"Beginners luck," Draco huffed._

_"Your the one who's never played gin rummy before Coville," she sneered and threw the remaining cards at him. Draco huffed again and buried his head into his arms._

_"Your such a baby," Maggie said rolling her eyes._

_"Well your just a stupid girl," Draco whipped his head up, "you can't do anything right! You can't even take care of your dog!" Maggie looked at him darkly._

_"You take that back," she hissed._

_"Make me," Draco eyed her from across the table._

_"Take it back!" she screamed, tears welling up in her eyes._

_"You killed that stupid dog of yours," Draco said leaning over the table. At that Maggie leaped over the table at Draco..._

"AHHH!" Draco shot up from his pillow. His eyes darted around the room looking for the little eight-year-old girl, but they only met darkness. His chest heaved up and down and he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Only a dream," he muttered to himself, "only a dream."

* * *

Leelu placed a full tea tray down in front of me.

"So Anna what is it we can do for you?" Marco smiled at me revealing long incisors.

"Oh not much really, I just couldn't seem to get to sleep. And Malfoy scared the living shit out of me when he woke up shouting down the hall," I said flopping back on one of their sofas.

"Whose Mafloy?" Leelu asked leaning forward licking her lips.

"He's just some guy I have to share a dorm with," I said carelessly.

"He sounds malicious," Leelu grinned. Suddenly what I had read about wicken vampires rushed into my thoughts. _But it has been proven that they, unlike the common vampire, feast only on the blood of evil bein__gs and those of malice__._ Malfoy fell into this category.

"Nah he's nothing of the sort, I don't think he could even squish a caterpillar," I laughed awkwardly.

"That's too bad," Marco sighed.

"Well I better get off to bed now. Wouldn't want to upset good ole, nice, heartfelt Malfoy now would I," I gave Marco and Leelu another awkward smile and locked their door behind me.

* * *

_Here's the next chapter! Saw Harry Potter last night...well this morning technically...It was amazing! Don't know what the dancing was though...Well hope you enjoyed the chapter!_


	22. Safe and Seeing

"Nunes...Nunes...NUNES GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF BED!" I jumped from my sheets when Malfoy had not only yelled but threw his wet towel over my head.

"What do you want!" I shouted, throwing his towel back.

"If you want a shower I suggest you get up now before we have to leave," he stated matter-o-factly.

"W-what time is it," I sat rubbing my eyes, rather flustered that I still had forgotten to set my alarm clock.

"Four."

"In the morning!" I sat up and threw the blankets off my legs. I had only then realized that I had fallen asleep a few hours ago.

"Yes in the morning, we leave at five. So let's go!" He grabbed me by the arm and began to pull me from my bed, "You best have everything already packed."

"Don't worry, I'm way ahead of you," I motioned over to my backpack and broom sitting in a corner next to my desk. After I was out of the shower and dressing in the bathroom looking down at my amulet held in the palm of my hand. I hadn't thought about what I would do with Flick. I wasn't sure I wanted to bring her, out of fear of losing her in some unknown country. Dumbledore was my first thought.

I had emerged from the bathroom not feeling as tired as I had a little while before, "Malfoy I'll be right back," I peeked my head into his room. He was bent over his desk scribbling on some papers.

"Yeah just hurry it up," he said waving me pass.

"Headmaster?" I peered into Dumbledore's office, hoping he would be awake at this early hour.

"Ahhh Maggie, what can I do for you so early this morning?" Dumbledore stepped from a conjoining room.

"Well...um...sir I just don't feel safe bringing Flick with me," I pulled my amulet over my head and held it out to the headmaster.

"A wise choice Maggie. I shall take good care of her," Dumbledore scooped up the necklace and pulled it over his own head, "Flicka Faye will be fine in my care."

"Thank you professor," I smiled.

"Now I think you must be getting off somewhere? Am I wrong?"

"No sir," I went to leave but Dumbledore had one last thing to say.

"Don't lose that, Maggie," a twinkle filled his eyes as he tapped his left hand.

"Yes sir," I said not really knowing what he was talking about.

"There you are Nunes," Malfoy was riffling through my backpack, "Is this all that you're bringing?"

"Yeah, I do have a wand you know," I pulled my wand from my waistband to show him.

"Just make sure you have a good traveling cloak, and here put this on your belt," Malfoy threw something at me, "it's a wand sheath...so you don't have to keep the thing tucked in your waist," Malfoy explained after seeing the confused look on my face. So I did as I was told, undoing my belt and sliding sheath down the leather and secured it at my side. As Draco had said I was able to keep my wand comfortably at my waist.

I pulled on my thickest sweater, my backpack, and grabbed my broom when Malfoy interrupted me once more. "And how do you suppose you're going to carry that?"

"With my hand," I turned to face him, "that's what I planned."

"Here," Malfoy pulled a strap from his pants pocket, "use this. I don't want to have to listen to you complain that you have to carry that thing around with you," he sighed and threw it to me.

"Well aren't you just mister Boy Scout today?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh never mind," I sighed and adjusted the strap-holder Malfoy had given me.

"That's your broom," Malfoy snorted.

"Yes, do you have a problem with it?" I said, pulling the strap over my head.

"No, not at all," he said holding back giggles, "come on or we'll be late." I was able to grab hold of Tal just as Malfoy pulled me out the door. We trotted down over the lawn down to the court yard. Professors Babbling and Snape were waiting for us at the gate.

"Right on time," professor Babbling said, tapping her watch, "you better take this and be better be off then." Babbling handed us each a necklace with a small charms.

"What's this?" I asked to Malfoy as we walked through the gate.

"It's to help us apparate long distances. Ready?" Malfoy asked.

"Malfoy, I know now really isn't the time to be telling you this, but I've never apparated before," Malfoy looked up to the sky and whispered 'Merlin', then grabbed my arm.

"Where to first?" he asked. I pulled the maps from my bag, "Brazil," I whispered, afraid of my first apparition experience. Malfoy nodded and closed his eyes. I held Tal close to my chest. Just as I felt something pulling at the back of my navel I saw Hermione running down through the gates Harry close behind. Then everything went dark and I succumbed to the squeezing pressure.

My eyes fluttered open to a morning haze. The wet grass beneath my body had made my skin damp and clammy. Malfoy was sitting next to me resting on his elbows. "'Bout time you woke up," Malfoy looked down at me, "now come on let's go. We've got two runes to get today and I'm not sure how long I can keep the apparition up."

"Where are we?" I rubbed the last effects of the pressure from my arms. "Paris, I think, mother brought me here on holiday once. Now come on," he tossed Tal the box back into my arms, the poor thing seemed a bit queasy itself. Malfoy grabbed me by the arm once more and again I felt a tug on my bellybutton.

I landed sharply on the ground and Malfoy appeared on his feet next to me. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that," I moaned rubbing my bum. Luckily I still had Tal tucked under my arm.

"Okay," Malfoy pulled out one of the maps, "now we're here," he pointed to a spot in north east Africa. "We'll have go by broom across the ocean. Because there is no way I can get us over to Brazil," He looked over at me still trying to shake off the apparation. "Come on we're burning day light," Malfoy shouldered off his broom and mounted it.

"We're leaving now! I've only just stood up," I protested.

"Well we've got to make it over the Atlantic and back before night fall," he shouted, poking the map in his hand.

"Fine," I mounted my broom wincing a little. Once we were in the air Malfoy looked back at me as if to say 'ready?' I nodded back to him and suddenly my broom lurched forward. I was flying at top speeds right behind Malfoy caught in an intercontinental broom airway.

* * *

As we caught sight of the land mass I followed Malfoy out of the airway. He turned back and shouted, "land on the coast!" over the rushing wind. The second we had landed Malfoy grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me into the jungle.

"Okay," I started while trying to pry my arm from his hands, "we need to find the river and follow it inland, we've got to get higher. Come on," I shot up through the trees on my broom.

It was exhilarating, feeling the vines and branches brush past my face and legs. I felt, for the first time in weeks, free. A branch caught my left hand and my finger seemed to have gotten stuck. I pulled my finger free but the moment my hand recoiled everything became hazy. I lost complete control of my broom as my head began to swim faster and faster. Just as I felt the vines fly past my face they whipped my back on the way down. And finally black.

_Maggie and Draco came upon the large, open mouth of a cave not far from the river. Bones and skulls littered around the entrance rattled with the soft wind._

_"Draco I-I don't think we should go in there..."_

_"Nonsense this looks like where we're supposed to go!" Draco said over excited. The two entered the cave trying not to step on the numerous beetles scuttling on the floor of the cave._

_Every thing was damp and cold. The walls worn smooth by the passing of some sort of large creature. Outside there was the rush of water, it sounded so close with the echo. Maggie stood in the haze. A low growl echoed behind her and she turned to find a pair of ember bright eyes happy to bit her head off. The large beast seemed to be grinning and inhaled deeply and expelled._

"Nunes! Nunes! Get up this isn't funny!" I heard Draco trying to shake me awake.

"Get the ring," I whispered horsely.

"What?" he hissed, I held up my left hand and wiggled my left ring finger. He must have understood because I heard the rustle of leaves and bushes until he finally slipped the cold marble ring onto my finger. "What just happened!"

"It was nothing Draco," I said rubbing my face.

"What was that?"

"I said it was nothing," and he left it at that. It wasn't until a half hour or so after that I realized I had used his first name.

* * *

_Okay there's chapter 22! I've also started re-writing my other story **Moontrimmer** so go check that out, the new chapter will be up in a few days. And a new chapter for this one tomorrow. Hope it was a good read!_


	23. Fire and Water

After an hour or so of sitting stiffly on a broom, zooming through the trees, I spotted Malfoy waving me down to the canopy. Once I was sure that I was securely sitting on a branch I looked over to him.

"What is it you wanted that couldn't be told to me up there?" I pointed an angry finger towards the sky.

"Hold your hippogriffs will you? I just have to take a piss is all," he stated while unzipping his pants.

"I'm sorry I asked," I rolled my eyes away from him.

"So what's the purpose of that stupid piece of stone on your finger?" Draco asked turning his head back to me.

"It's nothing."

"Well it has to be something. The second it got pulled off your finger you began seizing and foaming at the mouth," he smirked.

"Oh hardy har har. I told you I just need to wear it is all," he zipped his pants back up and climbed over to the branch I was perched on.

"So you _have_ to wear it?"

"No...I mean yeah-no," I sighed deeply, "why are you so frustrating?" I looked at him straight in the face.

"So why do you _have_ to wear that bloody ring?" he asked again.

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you the truth," he finished his business and looked directly at me egging me to go on, I sighed again, "it helps keep my visions from flaring up," I mumbled.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"It helps keep my visions from flaring up," I shrugged my shoulders while trying as hard as I could not to look at him.

"So what are you some kind of sooth sayer or fortune teller?"

"If I knew why I had them I wouldn't be here with you right now would I. I'd have nothing to do with any of this," I curled my knees under my chin and lent against the thick trunk of the tree. I saw Draco roll his eyes.

"Come on we have to find that rune," he said as he pulled me into a standing position on the branch.

We took off back over the canopy of trees and vines. I could hear the occasional call of monkeys and exotic birds but I wasn't quite sure what we were really looking for. The sun began to rise fully over the jungle and it made to fresh dew glisten. I smiled to myself, I had never seen anything truly this amazing before. My awe was cut short when something sharp poked me in the back.

Tal, who was nested inside my backpack, was fidgeting about and then he began to yip loudly.

"Malfoy!" I called in front of me. Draco flew back around to pull up along side me.

"What?"

"I think something is wrong with Tal," he nodded at my words and we descended back into the trees and I pulled Tal from my bag. The little box's eyes were wide and his lid kept opening and snapping shut. "What do you think is wrong?" I looked at Draco as he pondered for a minute. He then looked at my wide eyed.

"Are we near the rune?" he directed his question to Tal. And the little box yipped even louder. We both looked at each other and smiled. We landed on the thick jungle floor and began to walk. If we were going in the wrong direction Tal would try to nip my fingers with his lid and when we were going in the right direction he would make a soft puring noise. As we continued Tal gave a short yap. Draco and I both looked down at him and then trough the bushes in front of us

"Through here Tal?" I asked gently and he purred and snapped his lid. Draco and I pushed away the brush that blocked the path and found that we were standing in front of a cave with a rounded, smooth mouth. I nearly dropped Tal on the ground at the sight of it.

"Malfoy..." I began but trailed off.

"Do you think this is it?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah but I don't think we should go in there-"

"Nonsense this looks like were we're supposed to go," he began to enter the cave when I grabbed the back of his cloak.

"No you don't understand, in my vision we were entering a cave, that cave and something trapped us," Draco went pale as his head perked up at the sound of a large creature approaching and I froze. We both stared at each other and, in unison, dove into some bushes. Peering out we saw what had been coming: a dragon. It's skin was smooth and the color of shiny copper with short horns on top of it's head.

"A Peruvian Vipertooth," Draco whispered to me quietly, "just a small one."

"Small?" I whispered back harshly. I would have guessed the thing was nearly fifteen feet long.

"Yeah," he whispered back. Suddenly the Vipertooth's head shot up with it's nose in the air. My eyes widened and I looked at Draco. "He can smell our scent around the cave."

"What do we do?" I mouthed, but Draco shrugged with a frightened look on his face.

The dragon continued to sniff around and then turned the direction we had entered in and trotted off into the jungle.

"Now's our chance," I whispered.

"What! I'm not going in there," Draco hissed.

"Come on," I quickly glanced down at Tal in my arms, "the runes is in there right?" and he snapped his lid yes. "We need it Malfoy, to beat Potter," I rose one of my eyebrows at him.

Draco seemed to ponder this for a moment before deciding, "Fine, quick."

We both stood up out of the bushes and looked around carefully to make sure there was no sign of the dragon. When we were both sure the coast was clear we entered the round mouth of the cave. Everything inside was dark and dank and the walls were worn smooth just as they had been in my vision.

"Lumos," Draco whispered and the tip of his wand lit up.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" I asked to him in front of me after quite a few paces.

"I don't kno-wait," Draco had stopped at the end of the cave and at the back was a large, rocky nest in which great, shiny orange eggs sat. Along with the eggs was an a rock only the size of my fist but it was covered with ancient writings. I could feel the corners of my mouth pull up into a smile.

"Malfoy that's it," I said walking past him and plucking it from the nest. Tal instinctively opened his lid and I sat the rune inside. I then slid Tal securely in my backpack.

"Come on let's get out of here before that Vipertooth gets back." We quickly jogged out of the cave and began to mount our brooms. Unfortunately we didn't see the pair of ember colored eyes watching us.

First Draco took off and I meant to follow but, as if out of nowhere, a large copper colored claw swatted me out of the sky. My head was slammed against a rock.

"MALFOY!" I screamed as loud as I could. I wasn't sure if he would come back as I looked into the dragon's mouth full of slimy teeth. A thin mist closed in over the dragon and myself and I knew that this was it. I was done for. The whole world had flipped around, it was as if the gravity had been switched off. _So this is what death is like_, I thought to myself as I felt a hand grasp tightly around my upper arm and I was dragged out and right side up.

"Nunes are you okay?" Draco asked me and I stumbled and fell against him. I stayed like that for a moment trying to straighten out my thoughts,"Are you alright to fly?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," I said as I swayed back and forth.

"No your not," he quickly strapped my broom to my back, "come on," he then pulled me behind him on his own broom, "we have to get out of here before the anti-gravity mist wears off."

I rested my head against his back as we took off and I noticed the dragon was on it's back wiggling it's legs in the air with a none to happy expression pulled across it's copper colored mouth.

_

* * *

Maggie watched as a coin fluttered through the water of a great fountain. She thought it looked like it was trying it's hardest to swim back to the surface but with every attempt it only sunk deeper. Feeling bad for the poor little Knut sinking into the depths of the fountain she looked up and away. In one of the hands of the statues sat a fist sized stone covered in ancient script._

I woke up with a start and was instantly confused. My body tipped precariously and my arms slipped from what I had been holding.

"Nunes!" Draco shouted and scooted me back behind him with one arm while still trying to balance on his broom. My breathing was heavy as I tried to remember what had happened but the last thing that came to mind was looking into the jaws of a beast who surely wanted to eat my insides.

"Watch were your leaning," he snapped mostly likely more afraid for his own life than mine.

"What? How? When?" I sputtered but just rested my head on Draco's back again and waited for him to explain.

"You were attacked by the Vipertooth. You're lucky I know the incantation for anti-gravity mist otherwise we'd both be dragon chow."

"Thanks for the encouraging words," I said sarcastically and grabbed his waist tighter as we hit some small turbulence, "How close are we?"

"We just passed over Portugal, so once I find an empty area we can land."

After we landed we then proceeded to apparate from Spain to the island of Majorca off it's coast. Apparently Draco had also been here on holiday with his parents.

"What are you freakin' loaded of something?" I asked after he explained this to me. But he simply grabbed my hand and we apparated right outside the city of Rome.

"So Where do you think is the best place to look first?" he asked me once I had regained my balance.

"Well I had a vision while I was sleeping-"

"About what?" he cut me off quickly.

"The rune!" I said in an obvious tone, "I was watching coins being dropped into a fountain and one of the statues was holding the water rune."

"Alright what fountain would you throw money in?"

"Well," I began, but stopped as I wracked my brain for a famous fountain in Rome, I had taken some Italian lessons in school and I was suddenly hit with an idea, "I know that people throw coins into the Trevi fountain."

"And that's in Rome?" he asked and I nodded in his direction, "Well then lets get to the Trevi Fountain." Draco began to mount his broom.

"What are you doing? I asked quickly.

"Well we have to go find the fountain." as he stood over his broom, the late afternoon sun cast shadows on his face.

"Every where in Rome is full of muggles. Especially the fountain. It's a main tourist attraction." I watched as Draco's face sunk. "How long do you think it will take us to walk there?" I asked. Draco looked down at the map and traced his eyes along the other paths.

"Well we'll need to leave late tonight and we might want to stop and get some rest," he looked at me. Just then down the dirt road came two scooters ridden by two Italian men. My eyes widened with an idea.

"Hold on a second Malfoy," I said and walked closer to the road, "Mi scusi!" I shouted to the men before they passed so they would stop.

"Si? Signorina?" one of the men asked me. I tried to remember how to ask for directions or possibly a ride to the fountain.

"la potrebbe ci dà una passeggiata alla fontana di trevi?" I believed that was right.

"Ah si per la bella donna," the other man winked at me and I smiled.

"Come on Malfoy," I jerked my head towards the two men on their scooters but Malfoy sneered, "We'll have a better chance at beating Potter?" I bribed him with those words again.

"Fine," he muttered and we each climbed onto the back of a scooter and off shot. The two men dipped and dove with their scooters around vendors, towns people, and tourists. I peered back at Draco and he looked like he could throw up but I wasn't sure if it was from the ride or touching a muggle. Thankfully we arrived at the fountain in one piece. As we got off and thanked then I asked if there was anything I could give them for their kindness.

"C'è niente potrei darla?" the men smiled at me and one of them answered.

"Un bacio," he said and I blushed, they only wanted a kiss.

"What do they want Nunes? Money?" Draco asked rather annoyed that he couldn't communicate. I looked back at him and then proceeded to give the men a kiss on the cheek each.

"Grazie," I thanked the once more and they headed off probably to where they were going in the first place. I looked back at Draco who had a look of disgust on his face.

"It got us here didn't it?" I said as I walked over to him, I patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "you can get the next one." His face slid into an even more disgusted look.

Together we pushed through the crowd to the edge of the fountain. I pulled a knut from my pocket turned around so I was facing away from the fountain and threw the coin behind me. I turned quickly to watch it flutter to the bottom.

"So where's the rune?" Draco asked and I looked up at the great statues that decorated the fountain.

"There," I pointed to the center statue who had the carved rock grasped loosely in his hand.

"And how do you propose we get it?"

"It's is your turn, I figured out how to get here and you have to figure out how to get the rune," I said and Draco huffed at me. He thought for a minute and seemed to come up with an idea. He then pulled me over to a empty alley way.

"Transfigure my appearance and I'll run up and just grab the rune," I quickly looked at him because the idea was insane. But I dropped my eyes realizing that I didn't have any better ideas.

"Alright run back here as quickly as possible so I can turn you back." Draco nodded and I touched my wand to his nose. New features spread across his sharp face. His eyes became a plain brown and his hair darkened over to black. His nose and jaw line rounded out and his eyebrows thickened. His cloak pulled around his body and became a pair of dress pants and a button up shirt. Draco's new appearance startled me even though I was the one change him. I nodded and he walked casually out of the alley. I didn't dare look I was sure I wouldn't be able to handle the scene.

Suddenly there was loud shouting in Italian and great amounts of splashing. The shouting got louder and louder when Draco rounded the corner.

"Augamente," He whispered and a stream of water shot from his wand and down the alley leaving what looked like a wet trail, he then proceeded to crash into me. He wrapped his arms around my back and my hand slid up between us so the tip of my wand touched his nose. All of his altered features faded back into his own: gray eyes, white blond hair, pointed features and all. A smirk was plastered on his face.

Two policemen ran and halted behind us. They stared to confirm that there was no dark haired man. Draco twisted around.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes signore. Did you see a man, about your height, with dark hair run by?" on officer asked in a thick Italian accent.

"I was a little busy to notice anything," he said and pointed to me. It took all my strength to play the part but I rested my head against his chest and waggled my fingers at the police. "But was the man sopping wet?" Draco asked and pointed to the fake trail of water.

"Grazie," the other officer said and the two bolted down the alley.

As two police men ran away Draco pulled his face very close to my own. When they rounded the corner Draco smirked even wider and said, "you can get the next one."

The sun was almost gone now as we searched for a place to sleep if only for a few hours. We found a small hostile in a convent that had rooms free of charge. However there was a small problem.

"We house women only?" Draco spat after I had deciphered the sign hanging next to the door.

"Looks like your sleeping outside with the pigeons and marble, half-naked men. Unless..."

"Unless what?" He asked backing away from me.

"I get this one right?..."

"I can't believe you made me do this," a much more feminine looking Draco hissed from under a wide brimmed hat.

"You make a rather attractive woman," I said, and I could feel the daggers being glared at the back of my head.

Draco and I both plopped down on the stiff beds in our room, "success!" I sprawled out on the bed.

"Yeah sure," Draco moaned as he locked the door behind him and the magic faded from his features and he was Draco Malfoy boy extraordinaire once more.

"How are you so good at transfiguring?"

"How many hours will I get to sleep?" I asked, skirting the question. I wasn't going to reveal my scalely secrets. Draco took my answer for what it was and looked over at the clock that hung on the far wall.

"It's six o'clock now," he tried to figure it out in his head, "we should leave at midnight because it's a long ride from Giza to China," he said letting his eyes flutter shut. I let out a small 'um-hm' and curled up on the bed and fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

Draco Malfoy watched as Nunes tossed and turned in her sleep she had been moving every so often for a good half hour. He wondered if she always slept that badly and if so what was the cause. Maybe it had something to do with the visions she supposedly had or what ever had happened the night he found her outside in tears. But he shook off the beginnings of what might have been sympathy.

He looked over at the clock to see that it was five minutes to midnight and decided he should wake Nunes from her restless sleep.

* * *

_There it is the next chapter. Don't forget to leave a little review about what you think!_


	24. Earth and Air

The sands of Giza seemed to shimmer under the crescent moon and brilliant stars. Draco and I rode quickly through the night in hopes to reach the Sphinx before sunrise. My eyes were heavy from the small amount of restless sleep I had gotten and Malfoy looked worse than I did.

I had nodded off a couple of times during our flight and fell from the sky. Which must have scared the living shit out of Draco because when I realized that I was falling I saw him chasing after me with a petrified look on his face. And when we had pulled back up into the broom airway I could have sworn I heard him mumble about how he was just going to let me fall next time.

I could see the Sphinx on the horizon and smiled to myself as I saw Draco motion me to keep going. We soon landed in front of the giant, nose-less beast.

"What did the riddle say about this again?" Draco asked me.

"It said that 'In the eye of the beast earth is put on a pedestal'," remembering the lines of the riddle by heart because of how many times Draco told me to recite them.

"Literally the eye?" he asked.

"Onward and upward then" I said and Draco nodded to me in the darkness.

We ascended up to the face of the giant stone statue and I pulled Tal from my bag.

"Which eye is it?" I asked the box and he snapped his lid to the right and I slid Tal back into my backpack.

Draco and I both hovered in front of the Sphinx's right eye and pondered over what to do. But when that didn't help we both felt around the eye to see if there was any way we could get in. Maybe a switch or a lever, anything would have been good at this point. But I found nothing and sighed.

I could feel Draco looking at me through the dark and I knew he was defeated too. We both sat there for a minute Draco was picking at his fingernails and I began brushing sand from the pupil area of the eye. There was a bit of sand crusted onto the eye that didn't come off with a single brush. So I pulled a corner of my cloak to wipe it off but it still stuck true to the giant statue. I began to knock at it with my fist but it still stayed. I was rather frustrated with my failure and proceed to kick the eye.

It moved. I was starting to open.

Draco looked back over at me and he, as I had, kicked the eye and it moved a little more. I smiled as we both began to repeatedly kick the poor Sphinx's eye. I knew that I wouldn't want someone doing that to me.

We were finally able to completely push the the eye inward like a door. Draco landed inside and looked around after whispering "Lumos." I followed behind him doing the same. We look carefully around the chamber behind the eye. Draco then walked back to the entrance and stood at the edge, probably wondering when the sun was going to come back up. I heard him kick some rocks over the ledge. Everything felt strange in the chamber like something was watching me and was waiting for me to do something.

However, I continued to search of a better source of light. I came across a thin trough that was half way up the wall. I stuck my fingers into the substance that filled it, when I pulled then back under the light of my wand they were thick with black goo. Oil. I smiled to myself.

"Incendio," I said in a small voice and the fire ran around the perimeter of the room. The loud whoosh sung out and more rocks crumbled from where Malfoy was standing. He had turned around to see what had happened and his eyes widened.

I quickly turned to see what Draco had been looking at and behind me was a short pedestal. On top of the sandy pedestal sat another fist sized rock. Draco quickly sauntered past me.

"It can't be that easy," I said back to me as he approached the rune.

And then everything had happened so fast I wasn't sure if Draco had disappeared or if he had been destroyed.

"NUNES!" I heard Malfoy scream from behind me. I turned around but the only thing I saw of him was his fingers clutching for dear life at the bottom of the passageway. He had been thrown back so far and hard that he slipped right out of the chamber opening. I quickly ran over and laced my fingers around his wrists and he did the same to mine.

"What ever you do Anna, don't let go," he whispered at me with wide eyes.

"Don't worry I won't let you go," I tried to give him a reassuring smile but it came out as a grimace. I used all my strength to pull him back up into the well lit chamber. He tried to stand up but couldn't so he laid down on the dusty floor. "Are you okay Draco?"

* * *

Draco Malfoy looked up a Anna as she stood over him. He felt a strange feeling tickling at the back of his head. The way she looked at him now was so familiar. But he shook his head.

"So your not okay?" Anna asked him.

"What? No I'm fine," he said standing up. His eyes widened at what he saw behind Anna.

* * *

"So what do you think that is?" I asked but Draco just shrugged and fired some kind of hex at it. The hex then flew back and turned into a bunch of flowers.

"It looks like a version of a confundus charm? It confused my hex into thinking it was a bouquet?" he had posed his response into questions.

"Do you know how to counter it?" I asked him.

"Maybe," Draco said and shot different anti-jinxes and spells at it hoping something would work. His final spell shot right through the confundus barrier and hit the wall on the other side.

"Do you think that was it?"

"Could you stop asking questions I know just as much about this as you do. Do something useful," he hissed at me.

"Fine," I sneered, walked over to the pedestal with ease and plucked the rune from it, "was that useful enough for you?"

"Yes," Draco said smugly. I then gave the rune to Tal to look after like the other ones. And we were off back into the sky where the moon began to hang low.

* * *

We were fast approaching the Great Wall of China as the sun began to pull up over the horizon. I could feel the knots in my back begin to tighten from sitting on a broom for far too long. I pulled Tal from my bag.

"How close are we Tal?" he yipped three times which meant to keep on going. We flew down over the wall and followed it until Tal began to purr in my right arm. "Malfoy!" I shouted flagging him down to the ground.

We both looked around and Draco asked me, "what did the riddle say about this?'

"In the crust of rising stone air is hidden from the wind."

"Alright which way is the wind blowing?" And as if he a conjured it gusts of wind came over from the other side of the wall rushing down to greet us. "At least we're on the right side eh?"

We walked a little ways when Tal began to yip and snap again. On the ground, nestled right up against the wall, was a small patch of what look like geraniums. I smiled as I saw the fist sized stone sitting in the patch. I quickly reached down to grab it.

However, just as I had put my hand into the flowers they began to attack me. They all sunk their little fangs into the flesh on the back of my hand. I quickly tries to pull it away but in the process one of them got stuck and pulled from the ground the rest of the geraniums hissed at me.

All the while Draco sat there laughing at me. "Would you stop!" I shouted as I pulled the flower from my slightly bloodied hand.

"I'll-stopwhen-you-" but he couldn't finish his sentence. I glared at him and levitated the rune from the geraniums. He spurted out in laughter once more when he looked up at me wiping my hand on my cloak.

"I wasn't that funny Malfoy," I said in a ridiculing manner.

"What do you mean it wasn't funny? You plunged your hand into a patch of fanged geraniums!" he snorted loudly and that caused me to begin to giggle and he snorted again.

"Can we just go home now," I said shaking my head. Draco took deep breaths to get rid of his laughing fit.

"Yeah," he said and a smile was still on his face. As we mounted our brooms something strange happened. There was a group of loud shrill calls. The top most stones on the wall suddenly faded and turned into an attack pack of faerie looking creatures.

"What just happened!" Draco shouted over the piercing cries.

"Some kind of pixies were glamoured to look like the stones of the wall," I whispered as the pixies landed around us. They were much bigger than the Cornish one Hagrid had shown us.

"They glamoured themselves?"

"It's a kind of faerie magic. They can transform anything into to anything else seamlessly." It was then the tallest of the pixies pointed his sword at me neck.

"Talking of our secrets mortal?"

"Some of them aren't quite fond of people," I gulped. Draco's eyes widened when another turned it's sword at him.

"And where do you think you're going with that?" the tall one asked.

"Well w-we needed it for our s-school project," I stammered.

The leader pixie smiled with his tongue running over sharp, pointed teeth. "Is that so?" Draco nodded his head ferociously.

"You don't seem to know what this is mortal, or who we are."

"Well then who are you?" I asked, standing a little straighter to hide my fear.

"We are the pixies of Khan-" however the pixie never got to finish it's sentence because he turned quickly to see that Draco had stupefied one of his own. The pixie's eyes widened and he shouted.

"Their wizards! Everyone take cover!" The group of them scattered even the one Draco had cursed. Draco and I were alone once more standing in the grass.

"Come on lets get out of here before they come back with reinforcements," Draco said. We took back off towards Hogwarts, quickly seeing as we had a great distance to travel and pixies on our tail.

We flew in silence thought sky that was being lit with the sunset until we landed in Denmark briefly to apparate back outside the gates of Hogwarts. And _lucky for us_ Flich was waiting to let us in. His lids drooped over his blood shot eyes. He must have had a post here since the last group left for their test early yesterday morning.

"Names," he sneered at Draco and me while holding a long piece of parchment.

"Malfoy, Draco." Filch then looked at me.

"Nunes, Anna." He searched the long, curling list in his hands for our names and after checking them off, let us enter through the gates. Once we were through Draco grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the back of his broom and flew across the grounds as fast as he could. I grabbed his waist to keep from sliding off.

I would have thought that Draco would have landed at the doors of the castle but he just pushed through with his right hand and kept flying through the corridors to Babbling's office. Luckily there was no one awake and wandering the halls early on a Sunday morning.

Draco slowed down just before the professor's door and we landed still in a run. Draco slid to a stop and I crashed into the side of him.

"Nunes!" he spat.

"You shouldn't have stopped so quickly," I hissed back as he knocked on the door.

Babbling opened the door with a wide yawn, "Oh my your back already?" she said as she adjusted her sage green robe and shuffled in the matching slippers. "Have you gotten all your runes?" she asked.

I took Tal, for all of the runes were under his lid, from my backpack and placed him in her arms. "Very well I shall see you two on Thursday," she said with another yawn and closed the door behind her.

"That's it?" Draco said to the door as I began to head back to our dormitory. "We don't even know if Potter's back or not!"

"Calm down Malfoy, I think your too strung out and tired. Let's just go get some rest," I said. And even though he had a face that could have killed the vipertooth itself he followed behind me.

We reached the prefect common room after shuffling tiredly through the halls. Everything was silent except for the low crackle of the fireplace and an owl that was perched on the back of one of the large lounge chairs. The owls head perked up quickly and it flew from the chair to Draco's shoulder, it had a letter in it's beak. Draco grabbed the letter and quickly pushed the owl off his shoulder with a smile on his face.

"Must have been here all night," I said as I watched Draco open his letter, "who's it from?"

"My mum, Nunes," Draco sounded irritated. He sat down in on of the lounge chairs and read the letter to himself. I walked over to the portrait that had already swung open for me. I was ready to slump down into my bed for the entire day.

* * *

_There's the next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it and I'll be getting the next chapter of my other story Moontrimmer up soon. Don't for get to review._


	25. Outstandingly Dumped

Draco Malfoy sat in his room at two o'clock that afternoon, he was still mulling over the letter his mother had sent him. He hadn't slept very well even in his state of exhaustion because of this particular letter. He couldn't think about what he wrote his mother that would make her think that something like this was happening. Draco glanced over to the piece of parchment sitting on his desk.

_My Draco,_

_How are you dear? I am doing fine as well as your father. I was in Madame Malkin's the other day and I bumped into Blaise Zabini's mother. She was looking rather lovely as usual and she was getting robes in forest green but I told her that she would look much better in emerald. There was another thing I wanted to write to you about..._

_Oh yes, in your recent letters you have written quite a bit about this young woman, Anna. Is she a friend of yours? Some one of interest to you? I would love to meet her. Will she be available during your winter holiday? Write back soon._

_Love Mummy _

Had he really been writing that much about Anna for his mother to think anything of it? He hadn't meant anything by it. Right? He was sure that he hadn't. But then again he couldn't help but look at her no matter how much she infuriated him. He noticed that when she smiled a strange feeling tickled at the back of his head. She was hard to figure out and she always had a skirted answer when ever he asked a question. But even then he felt she was being as honest as possible. Draco shook his head.

Suddenly he heard the portrait door slam shut and someone walk down the hall. Draco was sure that Anna was still in her room so he glanced out of his half open door to see Gaverey march past in his yellow quidditch robes. Draco was confused, not only because he wanted to know what Gaverey wanted but also because he wanted to know how Gaverey had gotten in. So he quickly jumped from his bed to answer his questions.

"Gaverey!" Draco shouted, "what are you doing?"

Gaverey quickly turned, "just seeing if Anna was awake." Draco looked at his with a sneer.

"How did you get in here?" Draco hissed.

"Some Ravenclaw let me in the common room," he said waving his hands.

"Yes, but how did you get _here_?" Draco said back motioning around the Slytherin hall.

"I told the portrait I was looking for Anna and it just let me in." Draco thought his explanation wasn't very much of an explanation at all, but he continued.

"So what do you want Gaverey?"

"I was going to see if Anna was up for quidditch practice."

"Why would Nunes go to a Hufflepuff pratice?"

"Because she's my seeker," Gaverey said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean she's your seeker. She's my chaser." Draco said, his voice beginning to rise.

"No she just tried out for your team. She's actually on my team." Draco's eyes grew wide at Gaverey's words and he stomped into Anna's room.

* * *

I was sleeping soundly in my warm dormitory bed when I heard my door thrown open. I peeped through a cracked eye lid and saw Draco standing over me.

"Can I help you," I mumbled.

"Are you on the Hufflepuff quidditch team?" He hissed at me through his teeth. I sat up and looked at him.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked and then saw Simon standing behind him.

"You tried out for Slytherin, _I_ put you on the team so _you_ have to play," he shouted pointing at himself and me respectively.

"Actually being on the team wasn't part of the bet Malfoy. I didn't actually want to play for Slytherin. And if you thought otherwise, you were wrong." At this point I was out of my bed, poking Draco squarely in the chest. He looked at me as his mouth pulled into a sneer and a death glare appeared in his eyes. Draco turned quickly and then stomped off to who knows where.

Simon had a small smile on his face, "I don't think I've ever seen Malfoy get told off like that before."

"He's all talk," I smiled back.

"So, what I was here to do. Are you up for some quidditch?" My smile widened at his words. Even though I had spent who knows how many hours on a broom recently. Flying with Simon would be worth it.

"Yeah, I'll meet you down in the common room in a few." Simon smiled again and left me to change.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat in his room, infuriating, she was infuriating, he thought as he watched Gaverey go by. He was furious he wanted to go back to Anna and curse her, hex her, hell slap her even, just so he could make her feel the humility he felt. But he was not just angry at her he was angry with himself for assuming that she wouldn't pull something like this. He shoved his head into his pillow and let out a low growl.

He had began to think something of what his mother had written him but now it had all slipped from his mind.

* * *

The cold autumn wind hit the back of my sweaty neck as Simon and I walked back from the quidditch pitch.

"So Simon how are those ten galleons treating you?" I asked slyly.

"I wouldn't know I'll officially get them on Thursday after your class. And when I do get them I will be sure you buy you a butter beer at the three broom sticks during this weekends trip to Hogsmeade," Simon promised.

"I'll hold you to that Simon," I smiled.

"It's a date then?" he smiled back.

"It's a date."

The week moved by slowly for me because of my anticipation for everything. Wednesday wouldn't pass quickly enough for Thursday to come and when it did I sat in my front row Ancient Runes class waiting. I was waiting to hear the results of the field test we all had taken part in. Draco sat next to me with mixed emotions on his face. He had arrived with a triumphant look the seemed to shine in his eyes. But the moment he saw me must have reminded him of the argument we had over my quidditch status and his face turned sour as he took his seat.

Babbling then tortured us by waiting until the end of class to give us the results of the rune project. She stood at the front of our class and inhaled deeply before beginning to speak.

"You all have done very well in this particular test. Let me see now. Su Li and Kevin Entwhisle you both receive an Acceptable seeing as you only gathered three of the four runes. Lisa Turpin and Megan Jones you both receive an Exceeds Expectations. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger you receive an Exceeds Expectations as well. And finally Anna Nunes and Draco Malfoy you receive an Outstanding."

Hermione sighed and turned to me as we left class, "congratulations on the outstanding, Anna," she said sincerely, "Now Dean owes Simon 10 galleons."

"And it seems that Simon will be treating me to a butterbeer using Dean's money," I said to Hermione and she gave me a look that said 'why haven't I been informed about this'.

"Oh really? Simon?" she said quietly seeing as Draco had gotten rather close, trying to listen in on our conversation. "I'll see you later Anna," Hermione said as she parted for her class.

Draco got close behind me as we headed to Defense Aainst the Dark Arts class. He grabbed my arm and pulled himself to my side.

"What's this about you and Gaverey?"

"Well if you really must know, Malfoy, he asked me if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him. And why do you care anyway? You looked like you wanted to kill me back in Babbling's class."

"Well I figure that I should, as prefect and your roommate, know where you are," Draco said and I looked at him.

"You've used that excuse one too many times to cover your mood swings, Malfoy," I stated and sat as far away from him in DADA as possible.

On Friday I had realized something when I heard a loud, desperate scream from the other side of the portrait door.

"Drakie where have you been!" it was Pansy. I smiled to myself and peeped my head out of my door. As I did this Draco did the same but he answered her call to himself.

"I've been bloody hiding that's where I've been," he said.

"So how do you plan on having her dump you on Monday?" I asked and his head shot in my direction.

"Well Astoria Greengrass should be of some help," he said waggling his eyebrows.

"I have a feeling that what your getting at isn't quite as public as what I had in mind," I said standing up straight with my hands on my hips.

"Oh believe me," he said, still just a head and shoulders peeking out from his door, "you're wrong." He gave me a great smile and suddenly my stomach felt weird.

Saturday had finally come. Simon was looking rather handsome in his deep yellow sweater, wool coat and black pants. It had made me wish I had dressed up more than jeans and a zip-up sweatshirt. Simon was smiling as he watched me pull on my coat, hat, and gloves.

"Ready?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," I said coyly. And we went off to find a carriage to Hogsmeade.

We sat at the three broomsticks sipping butterbeers and they tasted better then when Simon had tried to explain them to me. He was shocked when I had told him I had never had one before. But as we sat I saw another pair walk in, a pair I hadn't expected.

Pansy held loosely on Draco's arm as they walked in which was rather strange considering her iron locked grip of the norm. And then I saw her in full view, she had the look on her face, the 'we need to talk' face. My eyes widened and I watched quietly to see how Draco would react to the flaw in his plan, Pansy wasn't as stupid as he thought she was.

"Draco I need to tell you something," I heard her tell him.

"And what would that be Pansy?" he said as I watched them sit at a near by table. Draco caught my eye and I quickly looked away still trying to listen closely.

"I can't do this Draco," Pansy said. I couldn't see his face but he must have been surprised by his answer.

"Can't do what? Sit here? This table is fine, a little sunny, but fine," he said to her. I smiled at his own stupidity.

"No Draco not the table, us," Pansy said.

"What?" he said harshly.

"You never take me anywhere nice. You don't even want to be around me. You're with her all the time," I suddenly felt like I was part of the conversation, Pansy was surely pointing at me when she had mentioned the 'her.'

"Are you breaking up with me?" she must have nodded at him, "you're breaking up with me, Draco Malfoy," she must have nodded again, "you're lying."

"No, I'm not," Pansy said in a lower voice, "It took me this long to realize it Draco but you don't care for anyone but yourself."

I peered back up to see Pansy get up from the table and leave Draco alone. The waitress sat two mugs of butterbeer in front of Draco, he glared up at her and pushed the mugs over and stormed off angrily.

"I better go check on him," I said to Simon, who had been trying to fight back giggles. His smile fell from his face.

"Don't bother. Malfoy will go shag someone else," he said to me but I shook my head.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I said as I started to get up.

"Anna don't go," Simon said grabbing my arm, "he's a jerk. He had it coming to him."

I tried to shake my hand free from his and whispered harshly, "well if the one person who gave a shit about you just dumped you, wouldn't you want someone to talk to?"

Simon dropped my hand and I ran out after Draco. I saw him walking up the leaf-covered path back to Hogwarts.

"Draco!" I shouted and saw him turn around.

"What?" he asked as I caught up to him, "are you here to poke fun at me? Did I break our bet because that bitch broke up with me two days early?"

"No," I said softly and Draco had a strange look on his face, "are you okay?" Draco didn't say anything, he just looked at me and shrugged.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked and he shook his head 'no'.

"Why don't you go back and flirt with Gaverey some more?" Draco sneered.

"Because you are the Slytherin prefect and my roommate and I need to make sure you're okay," I said matter-of-factly and he looked at me.

"Don't mock me," he said in a small, defeated voice, "I think your boyfriend wants you back," he pointed behind me and I saw Simon approaching fast.

"He's not my boyfriend Draco," I said. Draco shrugged again as Simon came up behind me and turned back towards the castle. I made to go after him but Simon pulled me back towards Hogsmeade.


	26. He Walked Away

Later that evening just before supper I crept down the hall in the Slytherin prefect dorm hoping Draco wouldn't hear my footsteps. I peeked thorough his doorway and saw him lying on his bed most likely staring at its posts. Suddenly, as if he had sensed my presence, Draco shot up straight from his seat

and looked at me and to my surprise his eyes were rather red. He quickly stood up and all but ran to the door and, while wiping his eyes with his sleeve, shut it in my face. I sighed deeply and placed my hand on the wood and left through the portrait door. Hermione and Harry were waiting for me to meet Ron and Naomi in the Great Hall for something to eat.

Dumbledore stood at the front of the head table looking like he had something important to say. And he did. "Students I would like to announce that this Halloween Hogwarts will be holding a Masquerade ball."

After he had announced this I heard girls squealing everywhere and boys moaning. I wasn't sure if I considered this a good idea.

As I ate I watched Ron shovel peas into his mouth and Hermione chew her food thoughtfully. "So," Naomi who, sitting in between Ginny and I, finished chewing her chicken said, "who is going to the Halloween Masquerade?" Ron and Harry moaned in unison.

"Naomi no one actually goes to those things," Ron scoffed then chuckled.

"Well why not? It'll be fun! Now," Naomi grasped her chin with her hand, "who should be my date?" I saw her eyes scan the great hall and at the same time popped a piece of potato into her mouth. "What about Ernie Macmillan?" she said finally.

"Well I could ask Simon to say something to him," I said

"Really!" Naomi said with a smile, "and Anna I'm sure Simon will ask you."

I chuckled, "I'm sure someone has already asked him." Everyone looked at me and Ginny laughed a little, probably at my ignorance. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Draco's bright head slip past the doors of the great hall and down the other side of the corridor. He was looking very suspicious.

"I'll see you guys later. I forgot I had some homework I wanted to get done before tomorrow," I said as I quickly got up from my seat.

"Okay see you later Anna," Ron said first and everyone else, except Harry, said goodbye. I walked out of the Great Hall trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Once I passed the doors I ran in the direction that Draco had in hopes to catch up to him. I tried to think about where he would be going and then I remembered something Ron had told me. His brothers, Fred and George, would often sneak down to the kitchens to get food from the house elves. I had to look for a large painting of fruit. Draco was probably hungry and didn't want to face the entirety of Hogwarts.

Once I turned the corner I saw the painting I was looking for and the boy. He was standing there staring at the painting, mumbling to himself. He lifted his head and ran his hands through his hair. I approached him quietly. "You're supposed to tickle the pear," I said as I reached out for the fruit and slid my fingers gently across it. The fruit giggled a little and the portrait swung open.

"So are you going to ask Greengrass to the Masquerade?" I said arching an eyebrow and following Draco in through the painting.

"There's a dance? Does anyone actually go to those things?" Draco snapped a little.

"Well yeah why wouldn't they?"

"Are you going?"

"Well no, but no one has asked me yet so..." I trailed off. Draco gave me an I-told-you-so look.

I felt my lips press together in anger. "Well," I began, stuck to proving him wrong, "I'd still go ."

"Alone?" I followed Draco quickly down what seemed like a rock tunnel rather than a corridor.

"Oh I see your not going because you know that you wouldn't be able to get a date," I smirked a little to myself. Draco stopped suddenly and I crashed into him, I couldn't help but notice how warm he felt. Draco whipped around and stared into my eyes.

"I could get anyone to go with me if I wanted," he hissed and turned around to head back down the tunnel.

"Well Pansy would say other wise," I whispered before I could think about what I was saying. Draco's back stiffened and I could see his shoulders tremble. "I'm sorry," I blurted out quickly as he turned around, "I didn't-I mean I," I stammered as he approached me.

This was the first time I had been truly scared of what Draco would do to me because of what I said. He slowly lifted his hand ready to slap the words from my mouth and I turned as fast as possible and ran back down the tunnel.

I burst through the fruit portrait door and ran down the hall, I heard fast foot falls behind me. I ran until I felt my lungs would give out. I finally had to stop in an empty hallway and Draco grabbed my shoulders. I was pushed up against the wall and Draco put his face so close to my our noses touched. His eyes pierced mine and I was sure my legs would give out. He pushed my shoulder more sharply against the wall. I closed my eyes as tightly waiting for something to happen I wasn't sure what would happen but I couldn't bring myself to open them.

I felt Draco let out a sharp breath against my face and let go of my shoulders. I peeked through my eyelashes and was surprised to see his back as he walked away from where he had had me pinned against the wall. What had just happened thoroughly confused me.

* * *

Draco Malfoy stomped down the hallway completely baffled at what he had just done, he had let her go. He let Anna get away with what she said. Why? Suddenly the letter his mother had wrote him last week.

"Impossible," he whispered. Draco hurried off to take a bath hoping that the hot water would help him focus and think things over.

* * *

I didn't see much of Draco over the next week. I would only hear his footsteps pass my door when he took showers in the morning and when he came to ancient runes on Thursday and sat next to me. He didn't speak or even acknowledge my presence. And on Friday I finally stopped him on my way back from dinner.

"Draco?" I started as I grabbed his shoulder. He turned around and looked straight into my eyes. A chill ran down my spine as he turned away with out a word. I don't know why but how Draco was acting was worrying me. And as he walked away I walked a little ways behind him seeing as we were both going to the prefect dormitories.

"Anna!" I heard from behind me and just before I turned I saw Draco stop and sit down on a bench nearby. Simon wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I just wanted to let you know that we have Quiddicth practice tomorrow and the game against Ravenclaw on Sunday."

"Simon I already knew that."

"Oh right. That's not what I wanted to ask you then...So the Halloween Masquerade... I was wondering if you had yourself a date yet?"

I smiled, "why no it just so happens that no one has asked me."

"Well would you grant me the honor of taking you?" he asked, his confidence building.

"I believe that could be arranged," I said smiling bigger still. I thought I heard something coming from down the hall but when I looked up I only saw the hustle of students.

That afternoon after Quidditch practice Naomi, Ginny, Hermione, and I spent most of our time finding what we planned to wear. Ginny's mom sent her money so we went on the take trip to Hogsmeade to Gladrags Wizardwear to pick out dresses and masks for the Masquerade, as many of the other students had that morning.

"Ginny," Hermione smiled as she held up a pale green strapless dress with a bow tied around the waist, "I think you should get this one." Ginny smiled at the dress, grabbed, it and ran into dressing room. I quickly picked up a long purple dress with a heart neckline and handed it to Hermione.

"Thanks Anna," she said as she too went for the second and only other dressing room in the small shop. Naomi's had grabbed a floor length, red dress with a halter neckline and stood impatiently outside one of the stall. I found a beautiful deep blue dress with a deep square neckline and a wrapped waist so the skirt of the dress flowed from my waist to the floor.

Hermione took forever to find her mask which was covered with sequins and small purple feathers around the eye holes. Ginny's had intricate leaves that decorated the edges. Naomi found a gold mask that sat eloquently on her nose. I found a black one that was artfully covered with the eyes of peacock feathers.

We smiled as we left with our packages and I saw Simon heading down the hill toward Gladrags.

"Hi Anna," he smiled as he spoke, "shopping I see?"

"Oh yeah," I said and hugged my package.

"Can I see it?" he said, moving his hand closer to what I was holding.

"You'll just have to wait until Halloween in the Great Hall," I smirked and walked quickly past him. The other girls caught up to me quickly.

"So?" Ginny asked wiggling her eye brows.

"So nothing," I said with a smile. And we headed back toward the castle.

I placed my box down on my bed. Scratching my head I pulled a leaf from my hair and transfigured it into a peacock feather while humming to myself. I felt someone standing in my doorway.

"Don't get too happy Anna. People often disappoint you," Draco said from behind me. I turned around and looked at him.

"Actually I believe the saying goes people often surprise you," I said and Draco turned to leave. "And when did you start talking to me again?" Draco peeked his head back into the room.

"I haven't," he hissed even though there was a smile on his face.

_

* * *

A little bit of fluff in this chapter but hey everyone loves some. Thanks to **MarsCat3** for the review it's really appreciated :). And I'll porbably get out the next chapter of Moontrimmer next. Keep reading._


	27. Snitches and Kisses

"So how'd you think you're goin' t'do t'day?" Ron asked me with a mouth full of sausage.

"I don't know, I'm a little nervous," I said and took another egg off the plate in front of me, "nauseous even."

"You don't look sick," Hermione commented as I shoveled the egg into my mouth.

"She'll be fine," Simon said sitting down next to me at the Gryffindor table.

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled. Simon laughed a little and pushed a piece of hair from my face. I could feel a blush sting in my cheeks and it felt like everyone was looking at me. Thank goodness for Naomi who broke my open embarrassment with her ridiculous antics. She wasn't as shy as she seemed the first day.

"You'll be fantastic, Anna," Naomi was squatted behind the bench, hidden from the Ravenclaw table.

"Naomi what are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"If the Ravenclaws see me I'm dead. They're all scared about losing the game today after your performance at the Quidditch rally back in September."

"They should be," Simon shouted over to the next table as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Ginny gave me a look and I blushed again.

"Well we better get going," Simon stood up as Naomi scuttled away on her knees. She was whispering something that I couldn't quite make out, something along the lines of how she'd be secretly routing for me.

"Yeah let me just stop in my room, I forgot something."

"Okay hurry up," Simon said mockingly tapping his watch less wrist, "I want to go over tacts before the game starts."

I scurried into the corridor, giving Naomi a high five walking through the door of the hall.

"Good luck today Anna," little Colin Pritchard said to me as he passed by, "you're doing a good job I haven't been attacked by any ghosts."

"Good to hear Colin," I smiled, he was a bright little kid the kind that grow on you.

When I made it to my room Draco was sitting there looking rather suspicious. He had my goggles in one hand and the other in his pocket.

"Looking for these?' he asked.

I just looked at him. He walked past me, snapping the goggles onto my head. He was a strange, bipolar wizard.

"And since you asked, no, I'm not going to the Quidditch match." And with that last comment he left for his room.

Down at the pitch my team and I marched out on to the field as Madame Hooch called our names. When we all mounted our brooms and were hovering only a meter about the ground. Hooch let the snitch go and I tried to follow it's twisting path with my eyes. She then let the bludgers go, one which almost hit Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker and captain. And finally she picked up the red quaffle.

"Are we ready students," she whispered to the chasers that were now a tight circle around her. They all nodded slightly and she threw the quaffle up into the air as high as her arms would allow her. The game had begun.

I watched as everyone got into their positions. Simon zipped over to guard the rings as Susan Bones and a Ravenclaw fought over the quaffle.

OH AND BRADLEY GRABS THE QUAFFLE FOR RAVENCLAW

THEY'RE RACING TO THE HUFFLEPUFF GOAL POSTS AND...

SAVED BY GAVEREY!

WITH A NICE THROW TO BONES THEY'RE BACK UP THE PITCH

PASS TO HUFFLEPUFF SMITH, PASS TO CAULDWELL

PASS TO, INTERCEPTED BY CORNER!

ZELLER TRIES TO TAKE OUT CORNER WITH A BLUGDER

HE DODGES! NOT CLOSE ENOUGH ZELLER!

Orla Quirke's voice echoed around the stadium. The nasal hiss following every word made me cringe a little.

I set me eyes across the pitch looking for a small glint of gold somewhere. Then I saw it, the snitch, gleaming in the October sun light over by the Slytherin stands. I didn't want Chang to see me make a move for it but I also didn't want to loose it. I made a wide sweeping circle around the stadium so it wasn't so obvious that I had found the snitch.

AND NUNES IS STILL SEARCHING FOR THE SNITCH...WHAT'S THAT?

A GOLDEN GLEAM OVER THE SLYTHERIN STANDS?

That had gotten Chang's attention. Quirke strikes again.

YES IT'S THE SNITCH!

And with that announcement Chang flew quickly towards the shimmer with me almost biting her heels. Then, when we were close to the cheering mass of green, she turned and flew in a different direction. I didn't realize why she had done this until I was directly above the Slytherins.

The gold glint was in fact a snitch, but it wasn't _the_ snitch. A Slytherin first year was wearing a golden headband with a shiny metal snitch attached to it. I turned my head and saw Chang speeding after another shine of gold but she lost it once more.

The game went on like that for some time. One seeker on top of the snitch the other close behind and then we would loose it. Susan and Zacharias together made about six goals for Hufflepuff and Rose Zeller knocked a Ravenclaw beater off his broom. Simon had only missed three of the outstanding twelve shots that had been fired at him. All the while Chang and I fought to get control of the snitch. Then I saw her take off after the snitch one again and I after her.

A panic welled in my stomach as I gained on her. Chang's fingers were so close to closing around the small golden ball. I was sure it's wings were brushing against her finger tips. But I knew that feeling as well. It is then that you get too cocky and think you have the whole game in the bag. Then something bad happens. And it did.

CHANG IS RIGHT ON THE SNITCH!

The whole game seemed to stop and focus on what we were doing. There weren't any goals being made, any bludgers being batted, nothing. That was the only reason I felt bad for Chang when it happened. Everyone was watching her.

She simply slipped off the back of her broom as if she were being held in back by a string. Chang hit the ground hard and screamed in pain. The sound echoed in my ears and made me loose control for a moment. I crashed straight into Cho's riderless broom and almost fell off myself, luckily I was able to hold on. I zipped after the snitch and my fingers closed around the cold golden ball.

SHE'S GOT IT! NUES HAS GOT THE SNITCH!

I landed quickly, stumbled and fell to the ground still a little shaky from my collision with Chang's broomstick. The chasers and beaters of my team hoisted me up into the air and I held the snitch up for them all to see. They all hurried to the middle of the pitch with me on their shoulders.

HUFFLEPUFF WINS!

Simon landed near the group that had started to gather around me and I slipped from my teammates hands and ran towards him. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me up level to his face and kissed me.

His lips were chapped from breathing in the raw October air and the sweat from his upper lip made everything taste salty. But I couldn't help but smile at the tenderness of his hand cupping my chin and his arm holding me against him. All of the other people around me disappeared. We pulled away from each other, both smiling.

"Did that just happen?" Naomi asked. A large group of students had gathered on the pitch now.

"'Bout time," Ginny said with a smirk on her face.

* * *

I skipped gently into the Slytherin prefect dormitories with a grand smile on my face. I was sad when I had to leave Simon behind at the celebration party in the Hufflepuff common room but I was tired. And besides he said he's see me later anyway. Draco poked his head out when he heard the door shut behind me.

"Back early?" he asked snidely. "Must have lost it then? Otherwise you'd be partying down in the common room."

"We did win Draco and yes I was at the party," I still could feel the remainder of a stupid smile on my face. I closed my door behind me with out another word.

Later that night when I was nestled in bed my door slowly opened. A tall figure stood in the doorway and the messy bed head gave him away instantly.

"Simon," I said.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

He didn't say anything he just crawled into my bed next to me and pulled me close to him.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

"What's wrong with your voice?" I asked.

"There was a lot of singing at the party," he said exaggerating the rasp in his voice, "goodnight."

"Goodnight," I said and kissed his cheek.

_

* * *

This is probably going to be the last chapter for a little while. I have break mid December and with the semester coming to a close I'll be super busy. Might get a couple Moontrimmer chapters up but other than that I'll see you around Christmas. Happy reading!_


	28. Knives and Games

When I woke that morning my room was exceptionally chilly but I realized that it was from the lack of another body next to me. Simon was gone and he had left my door wide open. So naturally Draco popped his head in on the way to the bathroom.

"Lover boy gone?"

I made to throw my pillow at him but he scurried away from the door.

As I sat in potions I wasn't really paying attention to what Snape was saying all of my thoughts were focused on a particular Hufflepuff that had kissed me yesterday and this morning in the Great Hall. But all of my fantasies of dancing together at the masquerade vanished when Potter sat down beside me.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a bit more venom than was necessary.

"Snape just partnered us up for the assignment," Potter hissed and I sighed. That pairing hadn't gone well at all. Potter and I just said there and bickered the whole time about who would put what ingredient in the cauldron and who would stir.

"Just let me do it Potter!" I hissed while he tried to grab the knife to chop some boomslang skin. The knife slipped from my hand and flew up into the air. We both dove for the sharp knife but I grabbed it before him, the blade in my palm. The pain shot through my hand and up my arm. A scream erupted from my throat and I dropped the knife to clutch my bloody hand. Rage flooded my body and Potter flinched and pressed his hand on his forehead.

Snape glided over to our table and grabbed my hand to see the damage. He sighed.

"Perhaps not throwing blades around would have more favorable results, Miss Nunes. I suggest you head to the hospital wing. Potter," Snape said while still looking at me, "please escort Miss Nunes to Madame Pomfrey. Make sure Mr. Flich doesn't have to clean up the trail of blood after her."

Potter grabbed me by my wrist and we both hurried off to the hospital wing.

"Why did you do that?" Potter seethed at me, "now we'll get bad marks for missing the assignment."

I laughed at him and told him he sounded like Hermione. But he rolled his eyes. Madame Pomfrey hurried over to us and lead me to a bed.

"You can go back to class Mr. Potter. I had a feeling I shall be seeing you more, Miss Nunes?" Madame Pomfrey said to me as she gathered phials from a cabinet. I watched as Potter hurried out the door, like the bloody was making him queasy.

"Now what happened?" Madame Pomfrey asked. I recoiled my hand as she poured a blue slime over my wound. The pain seared into my skin.

"Uh," I winced, "I reached for a falling knife in potions."

"Ahh," Madame Pomfrey said as she wrapped my hand, "that should let it heal. Don't take the bandage off for at least twelve hours and you'll be right as rain. And I would suggest you not go back to class."

"Fine by me," I sighed and headed back to my room. Unfortunately I was stopped by the Slytherin that was not talking to me.

"Nunes, wait," Draco said as he caught up to me, "what happened to your hand?" He lifted my hand in his own and examined the bandage.

"Nothing, I'm fine," I sighed as I pulled my hand away from him. I had to get away from him. His strange behavior was making me nervous. I found the small, empty courtyard I had once used to skateboard in and sat on the side of its fountain.

I looked at my reflection in the water. "I wish Simon was here," I said softly and dropped a knut into the depths of the pool.

"You called?" another reflection had appeared next to mine. I looked up to see Simon smiling at me.

"This fountain must be magical," I said.

"I've heard that."

I stood up and held his face in my sliced hand.

"What happened to you?" he asked gently holding my wrapped hand.

"I was partnered with Potter in potions and we were fighting over the knife and I grabbed it wrong."

"Potter? You two aren't best friends?"

"What?" I asked confused.

"You don't like Potter?"

"I think it's him that doesn't like me. Never seemed to warm up to me. I'm not really too worried about it though," I said.

"Well if he keeps hurting you like this I might find a reason to trip him in the hall." That comment caused me to smile and I rose to my tip toes to kiss Simon but he turned his head. "What?"

"I think I'm getting cold," he said. There was a strange noise in his voice, a nervousness that wasn't usually there.

"You kissed me this morning. I don't think it will matter," I said and pecked him on the lips.

"Yeah I guess not."

We both sat there through lunch, just talking. It was nice to have someone like Simon I felt like I could trust him completely, like I could tell him who I really was. I wouldn't of course, after what happened to my parents, but I liked feeling like I could tell him if I needed.

"You better get to Herbology," he whispered in my ear.

"Yeah I guess. I'll see you tonight?" Simon nodded yes to my question.

I had had trouble in NEWT Herbology that afternoon, luckily Neville was next to me to walk me through the steps of planting flutterby bushes. And in DADA I just doodled broomsticks and snitches in my notebook.

I dragged myself into the Great Hall for dinner to find Simon and Naomi sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

"Hey," I said and Simon kissed me gently.

"Are you going to the Ravenclaw Gryffindor game this Saturday?" Naomi asked while we were in mid kiss.

"Oh what?" I asked as I pulled away from Simon.

"There's a quidditch game on Saturday, between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Are you going?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. I have a Herbology essay to write this weekend."

"I'll be going Naomi," Simon turned to her and beamed.

"At least one of my friends is going to be there."

"No need to get snippy Naomi, I have work to do."

"Alright alright, being a Ravenclaw I can understand that."

The rest of the week dragged on horribly slow. The only thing that I looked forward to during the day would be when Simon would sneak in my room and crawl into bed with me. All of this magic was starting to wear on me. At the beginning of the summer I had all I could have ever dreamed of, my own magic. Who knew it was going to be so much work.

Saturday came and I was sure I was the only one not in attendance at the quidditch game. Naomi had told me Ravenclaw was determined to beat Gryffindor, especially after the loss with Hufflepuff. And the castle was completely empty at least that was what I thought.

"Anna," A familiar voice whispered from the doorway to my bedroom.

"Simon," I smiled and walked over to hug him, "I thought you were going to the game?"

"Nah I decided I was better off here. Do you want to go for a walk?" I nodded at his question and we headed out the portrait hole. After some aimless walking and talking I noticed that Simon was headed in a particular direction. We both climbed the ladder up through the trap door into the divination classroom.

"Come here I want to show you something." I did what he asked me and looked out of the window and saw the autumn sun shining, casting a glittering reflection over the Black Lake. "This place is better when you don't have a class in it," Simon said.

"It's lovely," I whispered and sat down on the wide window sill.

"I thought you'd like it," Simon smiled and sat down next to me. I made to kiss him but he pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't want to tempt myself."

After a little while passed Simon said he had to go and do some home work and I told him the same. We walked slowly until we reached the door to the Hufflepuff common room.

"I'll see you tonight?" he asked hugging me gently and I nodded.

"Bye," as I walked away he waved me off.

I hurried up to the Great Hall to grab something to eat. The quidditch game had to be over by now so the house elves would be serving lunch. I skipped into the hall and was surprised to see Simon standing with Ron and Ginny. All three of them has streaks of red and yellow paint on their faces the former two in their quidditch uniforms.

"Simon?"

"Hey Anna, the game was intense! Gryffindor won o'course but it was neck and neck the whole way."

"You were at the game? That's impossible."

"Of course I was at the game. I told Naomi I was going, granted she didn't think I'd be routing for Gryffindor. You should have seen her face!" Simon jabbered out of excitement from the Gryffindor win. Acting out the entire game, like he _had_ actually been there.

"That's great," I said quietly. I knew something was wrong. A person doesn't forget a perfect afternoon like the one I had just spent with him. My skin prickled a little.

* * *

_Okay here is the next chapter! Finally this one was a little painful to write I want to write about the masquerade but I have some time to kill in the story. So another quiddtich game was in order. Hope you liked reading and a special thanks to** Aligiah **for the review. Happy Holidays :)_


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